Life as the Savior
by oddmusic
Summary: AU. What if Snow White didn't give birth to Emma until after she was able to get through the wardrobe? What if Emma grew up being told who she was, and with her mother to boot? Let's find out, shall we?
1. Chapter 1: New Arrivals

**Note: AU ideas tend to jump out at me, and usually they're little more than a cool "what if" type scenario. Here's an exception.**

 **Chapter 1: New Arrivals**

"WELCOME TO STORYBROOKE" read the sign.

 _Original_ , thought Emma Margaret. Her brother leaned over.

"At least we know we're in the right place" he grinned.

"Good for us," said Emma.

[X]

 _Emma didn't remember of course, but she knew it wasn't the first time she'd been in the area. When she first arrived in this world she had arrived on the outskirts of the town. Though since her mother was very pregnant with her at the time, it didn't really count as being there._

 _Snow White, of course, wasn't just pregnant; she was very extremely pregnant when she came through the wardrobe. But she hadn't lost her keen eye, and the little boy in the green hat, red pants and bow tie certainly stood out, even on the strange road they had arrived on._

 _"Pinocchio?" she said, with recognition, "How did you get here?"_

 _The kid, unsurprisingly, was terrified._

 _"M-m-m-my father. He put me in the wardrobe."_

 _"But it could only hold one," said Snow, not fully grasping what was going on, "It could only…unless…"_

 _"The blue fairy lied," said Pinocchio. If Snow White had known more of Pinocchio's history, she might have laughed at the irony._

 _"It could hold two?" and then Snow's eyes flashed, if just for a second, with anger, "Charming could have come with me? Why…did…she…lie."_

 _"W…w…w…w…we…" Pinocchio trailed off. He clearly frightened of Snow._

 _"It's okay," Snow lied, "you can tell me later. For now," she said standing up with considerable difficulty, "We need to figure out what we are going to do with ourselves in this new land."_

[X]

 _A few things went wrong over the next day or so. When Snow White was asked her name, and she gave it, she got laughed at, so she gave the name "Mary Margaret", a previous alias. And thus she became Miss. Margaret._

 _Building an identity from the ground up for herself, and for Pinocchio, not to mention her daughter, was a complicated process. In a universe that required Social Security Numbers, Driver's Licenses, Tax Returns, proof of residency, Snow White had none of these things, and no money to get them from._

 _And yet, somehow they managed. Snow made a home for herself, her daughter Emma, and her new adoptive son Pinocchio, now going by August. She found a place in Philadelphia, a room, a life._

[X]

Emma drove past the sign.

"Now," she said, "time to get these people their memories back."


	2. Chapter 2: What We Tell Our Children

**Note:** **Just to be absolutely clear the "Henry" in this story is not the Henry from the show. Whether or not that Henry exists…probably not, but you never know!**

 **Note 2: A continuity error made me decide to change the name that Emma is using. I've edited out a reference to Emma calling herself "Lily Smith".**

 **Chapter 2: What We Tell Our Children**

 _When she was seven, and her adoptive brother August was eleven, Emma's mother told her she was special._

 _It was after dinner, and after Emma finished cleaning her dishes, her mother called her back in._

What have I done this time? _she thought._

" _Emma," said her mother, "There's something we need to tell you."_

 _Emma frowned, confused._

 _August nodded at her mother in encouragement._

" _Emma, you weren't born in this land…in this world. And you're someone very special."_

[X]

To say that Regina was not, by nature, a happy person would be an understatement in the highest degree.

Her life, it seemed, had been one failure after another, culminating in The Dark Curse.

Oh the curse had been successful, and she derived no small satisfaction in knowing that Snow White and her Prince Charming were separated. Of course she didn't know where Snow White was and that was in all likelihood Dark Curse Failure Number One.

Dark Curse Failure Number Two: it was hard to enjoy life in a town without variety.

In other words, Regina Mills, Mayor of Storybrooke, was bored stiff.

As the town's only resident that could actually tell that their lives were stuck in a loop, Regina had nothing, except for a daily visit from Sheriff Graham, that she had to hide from Henry, mostly because the Sherriff of Storybrooke insisted on stopping by every night.

And then there was Henry. A tallish, blonde kid she'd adopted ten years ago from an adoption agency in Boston, which also represented the last time she'd been outside of Storybrooke. He was the joy in her life, certainly – also the greatest sadness.

She loved that kid. She had adopted him because she wanted to fall in love with someone, and Henry had caught her heart. And for a while, she had caught his.

Then of course, everything was ruined, because that was the way of Regina's life.

Maybe she should have told Henry the truth. Maybe he would have understood better that way. But the kid was convinced that something was horribly wrong in Storybrooke, and that his mother was the cause.

Which, Regina had to admit, was essentially true.

As he aged while nobody else did, as he realized that living in a town where everybody's day followed a predictable, almost exactly identical pattern, Henry Mills slowly began to realize that there were two exceptions to this strangeness.

The first was of course himself. The second was his mother.

The "moment of truth", as Regina thought of it from that point on, was when Henry moved into fourth grade. For the fourth straight year, Henry moved up a grade while all of his classmates from the year stayed in the same grade. For the fourth straight year, he joined a new class with a bunch of people who swore that he had always been in their grade, ever since they couldn't remember when.

And then Henry began hating his mother.

[X]

 _After her mother told her who she was, Emma Margaret sat still in her chair for a while._

 _She never even thought to question whether or not her mother was telling the truth. When you're seven, your parent is the Ultimate Authority on Truth, even surpassing other peoples' parents, teachers or people with fancy degrees. So Emma Margaret accepted, without thinking, that she was the Savior._

 _She sat there in her chair. And then she began grinning._

 _It is every child's dream to be somebody special. It is why we tell them from birth that they are unique, until the word "unique" begins to lose its meaning._

 _Except Emma really was special. She knew it now. She really was unique._

 _She was the Savior._

[X]

It came as a surprise to Regina Mills to see the blue Ford drive into Storybrooke.

The town wasn't supposed to accept visitors. Nobody was supposed to be able to get in. Nobody.

The woman who parked the car was a longhaired blonde in a red leather jacket. A man got out, wearing a plain leather jacket and rather scruffy looking.

Who the hell were these people and what were they doing in Regina's town?

Regina decided, just to see what would happen, to go talk to the pair.

"Who the hell are you?" Okay maybe not the most tactful opener, but Regina had never had much use for tact.

"Um…what?" said the man. Okay, maybe that was a little too direct.

"Sorry," said Regina, "It's late at night, and we're not used to getting visitors here in Storybrooke."

The man was staring at her.

"Excuse me," said Regina, "what are you looking at."

"Nothing," he said quickly, maybe a little too quickly, "I'm just very tired."

"Do you know where we could get a place to stay?" asked the woman.

"There's Granny's Bed and Breakfast," said Regina, "They've got an Inn. I don't think they've ever gotten anyone staying the night, but they should have a bed for you two."

"Thanks," said the woman.

"I'm Regina Mills, the mayor," said Regina, thrusting her hand out.

This time it was the woman who seemed to be thrown.

"I'm August Smith," said the man, "And this is my sister, Emma Smith."

"Enjoy your stay, Mr. and Miss Smith," said Regina putting on her warmest smile before going back into her house, fuming. What exactly was going on?

[X]

" _I made a list," said seven-year old Emma, proudly showing her Mom. It was a list with the various fairy tale characters that they knew of, and their names in the Enchanted Forest along with whatever else they were known as._

" _You're missing Rumpelstiltskin," said her mom, "He's the Dark One – a very powerful sorcerer, and very dangerous. You would not believe how surprised I was to read what they made him into in this world."_

" _Read me, read me!" said Emma, which was her usual way of telling her Mom that she wanted a story read to her. She'd been doing it a lot since her Mom had told her who they all were._

" _Can you help me do the dishes first," called out her brother._

" _No," said Emma, "I'm the savior, I've got to know this stuff." Her mother laughed._

" _Knowing the story of Rumpelstiltskin from this world will hardly help you deal with the real one," she said, "now go help your brother."_

" _Yes mom," said Emma, sullen._

" _Brat," said her brother when she got over to help out._

" _Mom!" called out Emma._

" _Kids! Behave!" called back their mother._

" _You heard her," said Emma, "behave."_

 _August groaned, but went back to washing dishes._

[X]

"Who was that mom?" asked Henry when Regina got back inside.

"I don't know," said Regina pensively.

"It's just that I don't remember anyone coming here ever," said Henry.

"I guess you're right," said Regina, and got ready to get on the phone to Graham. She wouldn't want any visitors today, she was going to be too busy trying to work out who August and Emma Smith were.

"Isn't that _weird_?" said Henry.

Regina knew what the question really meant. "Isn't that weird, like all the other weird things in this town? Like how nobody besides me ages? Like how nobody besides the two of us ever changes our routines? How there always seems to be more people in the town than it could reasonably fit?" Henry didn't say that of course. But he meant it.

"Henry," she started, and considered telling him the truth, then decided against it. At this point, telling her son that she was the Evil Queen from the Snow White Stories would be far too damaging to him.

"Go back to bed," she finished.

"Yes mom," said Henry.


	3. Chapter 3: Keep Our Secret

**Chapter 3: Keep Our Secret**

 _Emma and August's mom came back from Emma's third grade parent-teacher conference stone-faced._

" _Somebody's in trouble," said August._

" _Shut up August," shot back Emma. But he was right. And she knew it._

" _Emma," said her mom, "can we talk?"_

" _Uh-huh," said Emma, in a tone of voice that could only imply that she was actually scared to death at that particular moment._

" _Go to your room August," said her mom. August grinned and ran upstairs._

[X]

The morning after they arrived in Storybrooke, Emma and August began putting together what they knew so far.

Mayor Mills was the Evil Queen. The old woman at the counter of the diner was Little Red Riding Hood's Grandmother. And Ruby was Little Red Riding Hood.

"Isn't Riding Hood supposed to be cute and innocent?" asked Emma, remembering how little Ruby had been wearing.

"Not where we're from," said August, "where we're from she's the wolf."

"Yeah, mom told me. I was talking about the outfit."

"Yeah…she wasn't wearing that in the Enchanted Forest."

"You were staring. Admit it, you were staring." If there was one thing Emma enjoyed in her life, it was opportunities to needle her brother.

"Of course, we need to find your Dad," said August.

"Yeah," said Emma, "and you", she added, "should go find yours."

"But the man we _really_ need to find is Rumpelstilstkin. He knew more about this curse than he let on. He knew about you. Maybe he remembers who he was. If anybody could, it would be him."

[X]

" _Your teacher told me that you'd been telling the kids some…unusual stories," said Emma's mom. Emma instantly understood what this was about._

" _Yeah?" she said, attempting to seem cool._

" _You've been telling the kids at school that you're 'The Savior'. That your mom's Snow White."_

 _Emma sat there. She knew she had done something wrong. But she couldn't figure out why. Her stepbrother always told her to be honest. Not that he never lied, but he did try. And she was just being honest. Her mom_ was _Snow White. She_ was _The Savior._

 _Her mom touched her shoulder gently._

" _Emma," she said, "Everyone at school just thinks you have an overactive imagination. And I'm glad of that. Because in this land – no – in this_ world _we have to accept that nobody but us believes that magic exists. Because this is a world without magic. This is a world where saying the sort of things you've been saying gets you thrown in mental institutions._

" _The fact that you're the Savior? That has to be a secret. God I should have explained this to you at the beginning. I guess I thought you would know. This is a secret Emma. Everything about us is a secret. And when you turn 28, and you go find our people, you'll have to keep a secret then as well. Because Regina will be there, and she'll do anything she can to stop you."_

" _But it's the truth," said Emma, "August is always saying we need to be 'Selfless, Brave and True'. He always says that."_

 _Her mom laughed._

" _Our lives here are a lie. My name isn't Mary Margaret, it's Snow White. Your name isn't 'Emma Margaret', just Emma. And as for August? His name isn't August, and he's a first-rate liar that chooses to rarely use his talents."_

" _I can always tell when he's lying," said Emma._

" _Really?" said her mom, "I can't. Not unless his nose has started growing again when he lies."_

" _I can always tell when anyone is lying," said Emma._

[X]

The clock tower bell rang.

"That thing kept me up all night," grumbled August.

"I kinda like it," said Emma, "sounds like hope."

"You sound like mom," said August.

The clock tower bell stopped ringing.

"Hang on, that thing just rang four times. It can't be four o'clock, morning or afternoon," said Emma.

"It's 7:24," said August, "and don't you have bigger things to worry about than a clock tower?"

"Mom said," said Emma, "that time would be stopped here until I came. Do you think that clock tower has something to do with it?"

"Maybe," said August, "in the grand scheme of things…does it really matter?"

Emma grinned.

"I hope it does matter. That means we're winning."

They got up to leave. Emma nearly tripped over a red book.

"Where the hell did this thing come from?" she said. August picked up the book.

"'Once Upon a Time'," he read, "No mention of the author. Looks like it's a book of fairytales. How appropriate."

"A book of fairytales," Emma repeated, "in a town full of amnesiac fairytale characters. That just appeared right the hell out of nowhere. Put that on my bed. We're going to need it."

[X]

" _The point is," said Emma's mom, "you can't go running around telling people you're the Savior. And really you don't have to lie. Just don't mention that you're the Savior. If they ask you about, say it's just a story. That's true, after all. It is a story. Just don't go around bragging about being The Savior. You've got twenty years to go before you're the Savior anyway."_

" _I get it mom. I really do. But it's hard. The kids at school…they don't really like me very much."_

" _And you thought telling them that you were the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming would impress them? I don't know whether to be flattered or concerned."_

[X]

When Mr. Gold first heard the clock tower ring he knew what had happened. He just didn't know how it had happened.

Had the savior arrived in his town without him noticing? Usually he was pretty good at keeping up with the goings on in Storybrooke.

Of course usually the goings on in Storybrooke were limited to whatever the mayor's office was doing, seeing as the rest of town was trapped in a 28-year loop. He walked out with the rest of the town to see the spectacle. A clock that hadn't worked in 28 years was ringing again.

"Well," said Archie, "I guess those rusty old innards finally straightened themselves out huh?"

Regina was there of course. And she walked right up to him.

"What did you do?"

Mr. Gold put on his best face of indifference and confusion.

"Why whatever do you mean?"

Regina seemed to catch herself, as if she suddenly remembered that Mr. Gold wasn't supposed to be able to remember a thing.

"Nothing," she said, and angrily ran away.

"Of course, someone's going to have to make it run on time," said Tom Clark before letting out a rather large sneeze even by his standards.

Mr. Gold was suddenly glad he didn't own the library under the clock tower, or he'd be forced to waste time finding a repairman. With a rather large grin on his face he started to walk back to his shop.

He was stopped by a woman he did not know. Except he knew exactly who she was.

"Excuse me," she said, "I was wondering if you could tell me where a Mr. Gold is. I checked his shop but he didn't seem to be in."

"My apologies," said Mr. Gold, "my name is Gold and I've been taking a look our newest oddity. Did you know that clock hasn't rung in the last 28 years?"

"I see," said the woman flatly, but Gold could tell she was actually pleased to hear this information.

"I'm afraid," he said, just to confirm his suspicions, "I didn't catch your name."

"Emma," said the woman, "Emma Smith."

"Emma…what a lovely name. Welcome to Storybrooke Emma Smith. You enjoy your stay," said Mr. Gold. So he was right. Though the name "Smith" didn't seem quite right to him. Still, minor details for later.

"My pleasure?" said the woman.

"Now what can I do for you Miss Smith?"

Emma went on to say she just wanted to buy something at the shop. Which Mr. Gold knew was a lie. The truth was, she'd just wanted to get a good look at him. The man that Rumpelstilstkin had become.

The key was, Emma clearly didn't know that Mr. Gold knew the secret of this town. And that was a secret he intended to keep. Sometimes, Mr. Gold knew well, withholding information is the key to getting what you want – even if all you're withholding is how much you know.


	4. Chapter 4: Single Mother of Two

**Note: A quick response to one of the guest reviews that got dropped by here (since I can't PM you). Snow and Charming don't have a son. August is Snow's only by adoption because he came through the wardrobe with them. Without giving anything away, if the curse is broken, David would start acting as Emma's father, while the August situation would be a bit more complicated. David and Mary (Margaret) would be together. As far as whether the baby from the current series that Snow and Charming have will exist in this timeline? _I_ don't even know that yet.**

 **Chapter 4: Single Mother of Two**

 _Snow White, now known to the world, and often to herself, as Miss. Mary Margaret had had to learn, in very short order, that life in this "Land Without Magic" was difficult in a way that her life in the Enchanted Forest had never been._

 _But at least she didn't have to worry about fighting ogres._

 _For the first three years she lived in Philadelphia she moved between jobs. Having no resume in this world made this difficult, but with a combination of determination and charm she made it work. She was working in a dry cleaners for a while, and then a Laundromat, and for a while a bakery. Finally she found her place working as a rescue worker at an animal shelter. Being good with animals had its advantages._

 _Of course, the disadvantage was that she needed to feed herself and two children on her salary. And she wasn't exactly in lucrative field._

[X]

After their first day in Storybrooke, Emma and August went back to the inn.

"You find your dad?" said Emma.

"Yeah," said August.

"Well? How is he? What does he do? Where does he live? Did he recognize you? Did you get along?"

"Slow down Emma," said August.

Emma realized what was going on.

"You didn't talk to him, did you?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"He wouldn't know who I was. I'd just be some stranger passing through town," August sighed, "We can restore everybody's memories, then I can talk to Marco."

"Marco huh?" smiled Emma.

"Yeah. He's the town handyman."

"So some things never change."

"I guess not," said August, "did you find your dad?"

"Not a sign of him. I looked all over town. Nobody looks like him. Nobody has the scar that mom gave him."

"This town is bigger than it looks," said August, "I'm sure he's hanging around somewhere."

Emma's phone began ringing. It was her mom.

"Hey mom, August is here, I'm putting you on speaker."

[X]

" _Emma! August! No running!"_

 _Bring your Kids to Work Day. Of course an Animal Shelter that worked with easily upset animals would think that was a good idea. Of course Mary Margaret would think that it was a good idea._

 _Emma started staring down a large dog._

" _Emma, get away from there!"_

" _Moooooom!"_

 _Try to protect kids, and they get upset with you._

 _August was rattling one of the dogs cages._

" _August, don't do that!"_

" _Moooom!"_

 _God, this was a nightmare._

[X]

Mary Margaret was impatient for news. Her husband was somewhere in that town.

But they had agreed. Don't call until 7:00 on the first day.

So she spent most of the day waiting for 7:00 to come.

Maybe Charming would remember her. Maybe she could talk to him today. Unlikely, but still possible.

6:45.

Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes until she could call.

28 years. She had been younger than Charming when they married, if just by two years. Now she was 26 years older than him. My God, she was so much older and he'd be exactly the same.

Dread set in.

6:50.

Ten minutes until she had to call. Or until Emma called her. Whichever came first. Either way, in ten minutes she'd be thrust back into her old life. This "Land Without Magic" wasn't so bad. No magical beings swearing revenge on you, no deals with evil sorcerers. The mundane world wasn't so bad.

6:55.

They were probably home by now. Might as well call.

Emma, to her credit didn't bother mentioning that they had agreed to wait until 7:00.

"Hey mom, August is here, I'm putting you on speaker."

Over the somewhat crackly speaker she heard August's voice.

"Hey mom."

"Hi Emma, Hi August. What have you got?"

Emma spoke first.

"We found Rumpelstitskin," she said, "he runs a pawn shop and goes by Mr. Gold."

"Does he remember who he is?" asked Snow.

"I don't think so," said Emma, "But there's definitely more to him in this town than meets the eye. Everyone is terrified of him. I asked around."

"Did you find the fairies?" asked Mary.

"I'm not sure," said Emma, "there's a convent in town. Could be the fairies."

"All women?"

"That's right."

"Could be them. And did you two find your dads?" asked Mary, pretending that she was as interested in August's answer as she was in Emma's.

There was a pause.

"I found mine," said August, "He's the town handyman."

Another pause.

"Did you talk to him?" asked Mary.

Mary was starting to get tired of pauses.

"No," admitted August, "I want to wait until he remembers who I am."

"You should talk to him," said Mary.

"Yes mom," said August. Some things never change. August was lying.

Yet another pause.

"Emma?" said Mary, "Did you find your father?"

"Sorry Mom."

"You know what he looks like," said Mary, still hopeful.

"Yes. I saw nobody."

"Are you sure?" insisted Mary.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't see anyone."

"We'll look again tomorrow," August's voice, meant to be reassuring.

"Thank you," said Mary.

The next pause went on for long enough that Mary was desperately looking for something to say, but couldn't think of anything.

Finally, August broke up the silence.

"I think I know who Jiminy is," he said, "There's this redheaded guy that was talking to my father. Dr. Archibald Hopper – the town therapist."

Mary laughed without really wanting to. She was sad, but still. Archibald Hopper. It was almost absurd. On the other end of the line, she could hear Emma stifling a laugh.

"The name kind of gives it away, doesn't it?" said August.

"Yeah," said Emma, "it kinda does."

[X]

 _After a while, Mary gave up trying to monitor her kids._

 _She let them ride along in the rescue van as long as they promised to behave, and they got into a fight over something, what she would never know._

 _Back at the shelter she separated them and told Maisy who didn't have any kids, mostly because she didn't want them to look after Emma and told August, who was 13 and could presumably take care of himself to take care of himself and not to cause any trouble._

 _After she went to check on one of the cats they'd brought in and feed the thing, since it looked like it hadn't eaten in three days, she came back to the sound of Emma bawling her eyes out._

 _Maisy had gone off and left Emma on her own because she didn't like kids and had a job to do and it really was Mary's fault for leaving Emma with a woman who didn't like kids (although she made a mental note to get angry at Maisy later)._

 _It seemed that Emma had taken to poking the cages of one of the pit-bulls. And the pit-bull had decided, that the little kid poking into its cage would not be tolerated and tried to bite off Emma's finger._

 _It had missed, of course, but Emma was terrified and crying. Mary comforted her, while making a mental note to never bring her kids to work again._


	5. Chapter 5: Family Bonds

**Chapter 5: Family Bonds**

 _When he turned 13, August received from his mom three new books, since August liked to read so much, a razor since he was starting to grow some facial hair and a nice-looking but inexpensive watch. The books were fun, the razor barely got used, but August was glad to know he could shave if he chose, and the watch actually came in handy on occasion. His sister got him another book and a pair of roller skates. The book was okay, and August never once used the roller skates._

 _When, just a few months later, August's stepsister Emma turned 9, she received from their mom a stack of drawings that their mom had done full of the faces of the people their mom knew from the Enchanted Forest, a rather stylish jacket, a pair of pants that went nicely with the jacket, a couple stuffed animals which Emma enjoyed collecting, and a nice-looking but inexpensive watch. She put the drawings in a rather large chest she kept with everything she had learned about the fairytale world in it, which she consulted daily, she wore the jacket and pants constantly, got tons of enjoyment out of the stuffed animals and lost the watch._

 _August, hoping to spite his stepsister, got her a book he hadn't liked very much and a pair of roller skates. To August's annoyance, Emma loved the book even though she didn't read very much, and learned to roller skate in what seemed like record time._

[X]

"I thought you and your sister were just passing through." It was Regina speaking to August. The "Evil Queen". Now just a mayor.

"We're kind of liking it here. Thinking of sticking around a bit longer," responded August.

August smiled. When last he saw the Evil Queen's face, he was a kid, barely turned into a real boy and she was crashing Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding. She had been so terrifying then.

Now that he was taller than she was, now that she was just a mayor and not the Evil Queen, and most of all, now that she didn't have any magic, Regina seemed almost harmless. She was still powerful in a way of course, but it felt good to be able to stand next to her and not need to be afraid.

"While I'm not trying to sell the unquestionable charms of our town short," said Regina, "I have to admit I'm curious. Why this town?"

August couldn't help himself.

"It just seems like such a magical place."

Dammit. That was really stupid. For such a good liar, you'd think he would have learned when to keep his trap shut. Fortunately Regina either didn't pick up the implications or didn't make anything of it.

"There's no magic here, I can assure you," said Regina, "just a town of hardworking people." And she walked off.

[X]

 _Emma's friends._

 _When he was 13 August hated Emma's friends._

 _To be fair, he was sure she hated his friends just as much if not more._

 _August remembered that there was a time, before they told Emma she was the Savior, when he actually quite liked his sister. But when they told Emma she was the Savior, it was like she became this whole other person. She got all self-centered and cocky._

 _What was funny was that he had been the one to convince their mom to tell Emma who she was. He had argued that they had to tell her when she was young._

 _So August realized he had nobody to blame but himself._

 _The self-centeredness seeped into every part of Emma's life, from her interactions with their mom and August, to Emma's relationships with her friends. Emma had gone from slightly shy and generally detached from the world to the most popular kid in school. She even had a little gang of girls that August hadn't bothered to learn the names of._

 _And now, they were all in Emma's room having a sleepover. They all followed Emma in lockstep, and August could hear his sister ordering the girls around._

 _God, why couldn't any of them think for themselves? Alline was pretty smart, even if she hid it. Katie was a pretty good pianist; August had heard her play once or twice. Clara was a writer of some talent, for a nine year old, but because Emma called her stories stupid, she didn't even bother. And the only reason that Emma called her stories stupid was because they weren't about her being the Savior. Because Emma thought of herself as being the most important person in the universe – nay, the multiverse._

 _And the scary thing was, she might have been right._

[X]

For the second day in a row, August stopped by his father's shop. In this world his father was Marco, a handyman.

August watched as his father worked on a wooden rocking horse. At the time he was sanding it down a bit and he had a few paintbrushes out.

August's phone rang. It was his stepsister

"Hey Emma," he said, "what's up?"

"You know that book of fairytales that we found in our room?" said Emma.

"Yeah?"

"I've been reading the thing. Guess whose stories are in there?"

"Uh…Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast…"

"But which versions of those stories?" Emma sounded excited.

"You don't mean…"

"The real ones. The ones from the Enchanted Forest. This book has in it the stories of our world."

"So the book really did just magically appear," said August, "It showed itself to you. Why?"

"I don't know, but it will be useful. I mean this thing has drawings in it that are…surprisingly accurate. The ones of mom look just like her."

August couldn't remember Emma being this happy since they had told her she was the Savior.

[X]

 _The day after the slumber party, August just couldn't take it anymore._

" _Emma?" he said bravely, "Why are you such a brat?"_

 _There were probably more than a few nine-year-olds who would have burst into tears at hearing this. But Emma had a thick skin, made mostly of her own self-admiration, and August knew that Emma barely cared what he said._

" _Why are you such a moron," she countered._

" _Brilliant comeback," said August, "but I mean it. You think being the Savior makes you so special. But you're not. You're not the Savior until you're 28. Right now you're just another kid who acts like she's so much better than everyone else. Emma you've got no special powers, just destiny. Well guess what? Destiny hasn't happened yet. And right now…you're just a spoiled little brat."_

 _Apparently, August had underestimated how much Emma cared about his words because after he was done talking he looked to see his stepsister sniffling quietly._

 _So August did the one thing he knew he could do well. He lied._

" _I'm sorry," he said, hugging Emma, "I didn't mean it. I was just angry because I don't like your friends."_

 _This calmed down Emma a little. The thing was, Emma always knew when August was lying. With most people she had to look at his face but August knew she could close her eyes and she'd know if he was lying._

 _So he told the truth._

" _I don't want to see you sad," he said._

 _It was on that day that August realized something. He had already known he hated his stepsister. That was nothing new. But he realized she was family to him. And he realized he cared for his family._

 _His mother might not have treated them equally. Hell, she was only his mother because of circumstances. She would have been happier if her husband could have come through the wardrobe and he had been left behind. But she had raised him most of the way. She had taken care of him when he was sick, when he was scared at night of the monsters, when he had nightmares about his life before the wardrobe._

 _His father had given him life, but not a mother. Circumstance gave him a mother, and a stepsister._

 _And August hated them._

 _And August loved them._


	6. Chapter 6: Henry Mills

**Chapter 6: Henry Mills**

 _When he was 8, Henry's psychiatrist told him that he was lucky. Lucky to have a mother that cared for him. Lucky to have been adopted at such an early age, and to have never faced what was apparently a very hard foster system. Lucky to be living in a small town with a "good support system", where he was well-loved and well-taken care of._

 _Dr. Hopper explained to Henry that while he might not always be happy with his situation, that he might sometimes feel like his mother didn't truly love him, this wasn't true and that his mother did love him very much._

 _Henry just wished he could believe him._

[X]

Ever since the woman and her brother had arrived in Storybrooke, everything seemed to change.

Henry couldn't remember his hometown ever changing. It had been one day after the next of the same thing over and over again.

Henry had never seen the movie _Groundhog Day_. But if he had, that would have been the comparison he would have made.

Until the woman and her brother arrived.

What was so special about those two?

Difficult question. Could lead to too many bad answers. Two people had walked into Storybrooke and changed the nature of the town. They could be anyone. Henry didn't even know what was special about his hometown. Was it science, was it magic? Was he in a computer simulation like _The Matrix_ (a movie he had seen)? Was he trapped by some magician's spell? How do you change how the universe functions, and limit it to one small town?

It was generally known that you didn't try to leave town. That bad things happened to those that did. The funny thing was, Henry couldn't remember anyone ever telling him whom bad things had happened to.

What the hell was this nightmare town that his mom had brought him to?

Henry made a decision. He was going to go see them. So he snuck out of his house and made his way to Granny's.

[X]

Emma and August sat in their room, reading through the book.

"You know what gets me?" said August, "The pictures in here, they look exactly like the people I knew. That picture of the dwarves?" August pointed at a page he had turned to, "I could tell you, just by looking at their faces who half of them were. And that," he turned to another page, "looks like mom – back when she was younger. Hell, that's what she was wearing in the glass coffin."

Emma absorbed this. There was her mom, to her a picture of strength, lying helpless in a coffin, just as she had been. It was quite disturbing. She closed the book.

"Why is it here?" asked Emma, "That's the question. Maybe there are clues in it. Clues as to how to break the curse.

August grabbed the book and started shuffling through.

"Rumpelstiltstkin doesn't say much about how to end the curse. When he talked to your parents I mean. Just says that you are the one who can break it."

There was a knock at their door.

"Better hide the book," said Emma. August shoved the thing under his bed.

"Hello!" he called out.

"Room service!" The voice sounded about 8.

"If you're Room Service," said Emma, "Then I'm calling the FBI about underage workers."

"Okay," said the voice, "I'm not room service. My name is Henry. I'm the mayor's son."

[X]

 _On his 9_ _th_ _birthday Henry asked a friend of his when his birthday was._

" _May 12_ _th_ _," said Paul._

 _Since Paul was his best friend – that year anyway – when May rolled around he asked his mom if he could buy a present for Paul. His mom refused. So instead of getting a gift, Henry asked Marco to help him build something. Marco, who rather liked Henry, agreed to do it free of charge, so long as Henry actually made it himself. By the end Henry had what could charitably be called a wooden horse. On the 12_ _th_ _, he gave it to Paul._

" _Why are you giving me this?" asked Paul._

" _Happy Birthday!" said Henry._

" _Henry," said Paul, "My birthday isn't until August."_

[X]

Henry could hear whispers on the other side of the door. What were they talking about, he wondered. Sure, he guessed they wouldn't necessarily trust him, being the mayor's son, but he was just a kid. What were they afraid of?

The door opened.

"Hey kid," said the woman, "come on in."

Two beds in the room. No chairs. Henry sat down on one of the beds.

"I'm Emma," said the woman.

"I'm August," said her brother.

"Why are you here?" said Emma. She seemed a bit suspicious.

Henry wondered about the question.

"Why are you here?" he said back to him.

"We were just doing a brother sister road trip," said Emma, "and we liked the look of this town. We figured we'd stay awhile."

"For all ten years of my life nobody in this town has changed, nothing new has ever happened. Not except me and my mom. And then you show up, and all of a sudden the clock starts moving. And today, everybody was doing something different. Not completely different. Not like they took up hang-gliding or something. But it's like when that clock started working…time started moving forward here."

Emma and August looked at each other.

"Kid," said Emma, "you're really smart. And really brave. But trust me on this. You wouldn't believe what was really going on in this town."

"Please," said Henry, "I have to know."

"Come back tomorrow," said Emma, "And we'll tell you if we're going to talk to you."

Henry walked back out of Granny's, managed to sneak back into his house before his mom got home from a City Council meeting. He couldn't help but smile. He was so close to finding out what was up in this town.


	7. Chapter 7: Family First

**Chapter 7: Family First**

Mary Margaret waited patiently for another phone call. She had been waiting 28 years after all. A few more days waiting for her husband to turn up wouldn't be so terrible.

She knew she couldn't go to Storybrooke. Regina would recognize her, and then she'd know who Emma was. And that was far too large of a risk. She would not put her daughter at risk.

But at the same time her husband was somewhere in that town. She dreamed that night about driving into town, what in her dream she imagined Storybrooke would look like, and seeing him there.

She couldn't go though. Maybe after the curse was broken. When there would be no additional threat to Emma anyway.

[X]

 _Things started to get hard for Mary Margaret around the time Emma turned twelve. Mary Margaret figured that she had already been through one child's puberty, how difficult could another's be?_

 _Very difficult, as it so happened. Very, very difficult._

 _Emma's Middle School years had started with her being the most popular girl in school, and her grades being mediocre to bad. Both of these things had the same source. Emma was the Savior, and she knew this. Everyone else was desperately trying to get good grades because they knew, if just a little, that their futures might hang on it. They were wrong of course, but at eleven, everything seems so important._

 _But Emma knew what she would be when she grew up. And she didn't need a college degree for it. Not even a GED._

 _The way Emma carried herself made her easily very popular. She was so confident, so sure of herself because, again, she was going to be the Savior. That confidence made the other girls idolize her, aided by the fact that she was the only person in class who wasn't pretending not to care about her grades._

 _Mary wasn't entirely pleased that her daughter was so uncaring about school, but she did like the confidence. She just wished that Emma realized that smarts would come in handy when she was the Savior. But of course, all Emma would say was, "how is algebra going to help me defeat the Evil Queen?"_

 _And really, what are you supposed to say to that? It certainly isn't in any parenting book._

 _But all of that was nothing compared to how much things changed in seventh grade._

[X]

Emma woke up first on their third day in town. She went out for a quick job before settling in for breakfast, where, already her brother was munching on some pancakes.

"Hey August," she said sitting down.

"Hey brat," he said. The nickname had stuck from childhood, though mean affectionately now.

"Well if you're going to be that way," said Emma, and feigned walking out the door, before sitting down in the booth opposite him.

"Have a good run?"

"I think this town is slowly melting my brain. I grew up in Philadelphia. I spent the last five years in New Orleans. And now here I am in goddamn Storybrooke, Maine."

"Hey," said August, "remember we're supposed to be sticking around because we like it here."

Granny took Emma's order. Waffles, and a cinnamon tea.

"You, mom and cinnamon," said August, "true love at last."

Emma rolled her eyes.

"So let's talk about the kid," said Emma.

"The mayor's kid?"

"What do we tell him?" said Emma.

"The kid's what? Ten? Nine? Not much older than when we told you. Maybe he'll believe us."

"If you'd told me when I was ten that my mom was," Emma's voice got lower here, "Snow White, I would not have believed you. Remember what I was like at 12? That didn't just come out of nowhere."

[X]

 _Most kids start slacking off quite a bit in seventh grade. Mary was rather pleased when her daughter did just the opposite. Emma seemed to hunker down in seventh grade._

 _Of course this instantly made her less popular. Emma's sudden obsession with Chemistry wasn't exactly the "in" thing. But this was a good thing. It meant she wasn't over-concerned with being popular. Her grades shot up._

 _Then Mary realized something. Emma hadn't looked in the chest with all the stuff that had to do with the Enchanted Forest in a long time._

 _Mary asked Emma about it, and Emma just sort of brushed it off._

 _So Mary decided to put it out of her mind._

 _Until one day Mary realized something: her daughter had stopped believing._

[X]

The waffles were good. Granny had a knack, apparently, for making breakfast foods utterly delicious.

"It's kind of surprising," said August, "I only met her once, before I mean, and she ended up threatening to shoot me with a crossbow."

"What did you say to her?" asked Emma laughing.

"Nothing," said August. "She claimed I looked at her funny."

At this point Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke walked through the door.

"Look out," said Emma, "it's the Evil Mayor." She was half-joking, but then she noticed her brother's face. He was scared of Regina. Deathly scared.

The mayor walked right over to them and joined them.

"Madame Mayor," said Emma, in a tone that she hoped conveyed confusion.

"You know," said the mayor, "I'm not sure I caught your name."

"Emma Smith," said Emma, "this is my brother, August."

"Really? Because I had the sheriff's office check into you," said Regina.

"Isn't that what you'd call wasting police time?" snipped Emma, "But I do know why you're here now. No, our last name isn't really 'Smith' – at least not legally. Our last name is Margaret. My brother doesn't much care for the name, for obvious reasons. And to be honest neither do I much. So we usually go by Smith while we're traveling. If you check you'll find that the hotel room was signed under my real name."

They had used the name "Smith" because they knew that Regina would remember their mother, and maybe know that "Mary Margaret" had been a name she had used in the Enchanted Forest. But they also figured that Regina might check in on them, so they agreed not to try to keep up the pretense if Regina should start asking questions.

"Ah," said Regina, all sweetness suddenly, "Well you must forgive me, but I'm very protective of my town."

"I can see that," Emma said into her tea.

"Enjoy your breakfast." And with that Regina left.

August breathed out.

"Living in the modern world has softened her a bit," he said, "I remember when conversations with the Evil Queen were famed for ending with somebody ending up with their heart torn out."

[X]

 _When she realized what was going on, Mary asked to talk with August alone. Emma was out at the time so the conversation was conducted in Emma and August's room.  
_

 _Since hitting his teenage years, August had taken to shutting himself up in their room with whatever novel he was working on. At sixteen his work was imaginative, creative, and very poorly written. He knew how to tell stories, not how to write them._

 _At least that's what August told Mary. He never let her see anything he wrote._

" _We have a problem," she said to him._

" _What have I done now?" he asked._

" _Nothing to do with you. Well at least, not your fault. I don't think Emma believes anymore."_

" _Believes in what?"_

" _Home."_

 _In the family the word "home" had become code for the Enchanted Forest. It was where the three of them were from, though Emma was actually not born there._

" _It_ is _pretty insane," pointed out August, "Sometimes I think it was just a dream. Being Pinocchio. Not for very long of course. I imagine dad's face and it sort of feels real again to me."_

" _And Emma doesn't have that," sighed Mary, "None of it. No memories to remember. No memory of her father. Just the two of us and this world._

" _What makes you think she doesn't believe anymore?"_

 _Mary explained about the chest._

 _August nodded._

" _That does make sense."_

" _Maybe it's okay," said Mary._

 _August nearly hit the roof._

" _What!?"_

" _I mean, her not believing. Maybe she shouldn't be the Savior."_

" _I repeat myself: what?" said August._

" _Do you remember the first few months of this world?"_

" _I remember you working double shifts at every job I could imagine to support us," said August._

" _After that. When I finally got the job at the Laundromat."_

" _Stability at last," snarked August. It wasn't fair, but it was true. She'd only held the job for a year, and they'd barely survived on that salary._

" _I bought that parenting book," said Mary, "remember?"_

" _I guess."_

" _In fact I bought three of them but I didn't tell you because I knew you'd start worrying about money. You know what they said? Each one of them. You put your kid first. Always."_

" _I don't get it."_

" _What does Emma need? Really? Does she need to be the Savior?"_

" _You're putting Emma's needs above everyone from an entire realm?" asked August, incredulous._

" _I'm considering it. Maybe I need to be a mother first. Maybe it's best if we just let Emma be an ordinary girl."_

[X]

"I have an idea," August told Emma, "about your father."

"Go ahead."

"It's not a very pleasant idea," said August.

"Just get on with it," said Emma through a piece of waffle.

"I was reading through the book about what happened the night of the curse. Your father and Mom ran as quickly as they could, with Mom practically about to give birth, so slowly. By the time they got there, there were soldiers waiting for them."

"Yeah," said Emma, "Mom told us this bit. Dad fights off the soldiers while Mom gets in the wardrobe."

"That's not all that happened. According to the book, once your dad got Mom into the wardrobe he got hurt by one of the guards. Bad."

August pulled out his phone and pulled up a photo then passed the phone to Emma.

It was one of the illustrations from the book. Emma recognized the style. It showed her father – the man she had been told was her father – getting stabbed through the stomach by one of the guards.

"I didn't want to bring the book down," said August, "in case the Mayor happened to see it."

Emma nodded, stunned for a second.

"28 years, this town has been stuck without time moving forward right? So if he was hurt before the curse, he can't have gotten better. Maybe you should be checking the hospital."

[X]

" _I can't believe this," said August, incensed, "You want to give up our people. My father. Emma's father, your husband. You want to give them up because Emma might have it easier that way?"_

" _I'm just considering doing what's best for my daughter."_

" _You always do this!" said August, "You do everything for her! You let her get away with stuff all the time!" He inhaled slowly, "Emma needs to be the Savior. Or you'll never see your husband again."_

 _Mary turned on her teenage son._

" _I could be with my husband right now," she said to him, "I could be with Charming, and we could be raising Emma together now. But_ you _had to come through that wardrobe. You took him away from me. So don't you dare talk to me about seeing him again."_

 _And with that Mary walked out of August's room slamming the door._

[X]

August walked over to Marco's shop again, only to discover that he was out. He didn't know what he was expecting to find there.

"You come by here quite a bit," said a voice. It was Rumpelstilstkin again. Mr. Gold in this world.

"I'm sorry," said August, "I don't think we've met." Did Mr. Gold remember the Enchanted Forest?

"I'm sorry," said Mr. Gold, "I'm Mr. Gold. I'm the local pawnbroker. I spoke with your sister a bit yesterday. She bought a rather nice watch from me, and gave me an assumed name." It would make sense if he remembered the Enchanted Forest. He built the curse, supposedly.

"How did you –" asked August.

"The mayor has her sources, and I have mine," grinned Gold back at him, "Now why do you spend so much time at this shop?"

August thought about how to answer this question.

"My father was a bit of a handyman," he said. Then again, maybe Gold didn't remember the Enchanted Forest. He certainly didn't look like someone who was a aware of a 28-year-old curse.

"I see," grinned Gold, "That's not the whole story of course, but you can keep your secrets. But if those secrets cause you any trouble with the mayor's office, I'd be glad to lend a hand. You might find that our interests line up better than you might think."

And with that Mr. Gold walked off, leaving August utterly perplexed.

[X]

It was 2:00 before Emma finally got the courage to visit the hospital. She used the cover of looking for some work, and offering herself up as a volunteer. She couldn't get work at the reception desk – no vacancies, like everywhere else in the town, but they apparently had room for a volunteer. She was to start right away. Emma helped out a fair amount for the next two hours, mostly by changing bed sheets and at one point by talking to an elderly man who, according to Dr. Whale, "needs far more attention than anyone can possibly give him." He then went off to give some "attention" to a pretty young thing in a sling.

At 4:00, she managed to find some time to take a look around the hospital. She checked a few beds haphazardly until finally, almost by accident she stumbled across him.

She looked at her mother's drawing of her father. It looked almost exactly like the man in the bed. He had the scar on his right eyebrow, where mom had brained him with a rock. And he was a coma patient.

[X]

 _Mary sat down on her bed. They lived in a small two-bedroom apartment, and luckily for August and Mary, Emma was out with friends during the big fight, because otherwise she might have noticed August and Emma yelling at each other in her room._

 _What a horrible, horrible thing for her to say to August. She had long ago accepted that she would have to treat August as her own. But she knew would never say something like that to Emma. It was so very wrong of her. So wrong, and so unfair to him.  
_

 _She walked back over to the kids' room and knocked on the door._

 _No response._

What the hell _, she thought_ , it's not as if I can ruin this anymore than I already have.

 _She opened the door. August had gotten out a suitcase that she had bought for him when they went on a camping trip and was throwing his clothes into it._

" _August?" she said, "I'm so sorry. What I said was…it was completely uncalled for."_

 _August continued packing._

" _August, please don't go."_

 _August looked up at her. Mary became self-conscious. She had already finished crying on her bed, and it was clear that she had been. Mary wiped away some moisture from her cheek._

" _You know," said August, "I always thought that you treated Emma special because she was The Savior. I thought that if she wasn't The Savior, you would have treated us the same. But now I know better. You didn't treat her special because she was The Savior. You treated her special because she was your daughter, and I'm not your son."_

 _Mary thought about this. He probably wasn't wrong._

" _No," she said, "that's not true. I didn't give birth to you, yes. I barely knew you until you were four and we arrived in this place. But I have spent the past 12 years getting to know you and you are a wonderful, smart, funny, creative young man. August, you are my son, and if I haven't treated you like it that's on me. But you are still my son. So all I want from you is a second chance, okay?"_

 _August stopped packing._

[X]

Mary's phone went off. It was Emma. Third day her kids had been in that town. What had happened?

"Hey mom," said Emma.

"Emma? What's going on?" Mary tried to contain the panic in her voice. It didn't work.

"I've got good news and bad news."

"Give me that bad news then," said Mary.

"The bad news doesn't really make sense without knowing the good news."

"All right, give me the good news."

"I found dad." Mary couldn't believe it. Finally. She had waited so long for this. She was finally going to get to see –

"What's the bad news?" she said, before she could let that train of thought go any further.

"He's in a coma," said Emma slowly, "Now mom, don't worry, we're already working on it. I talked to the doctors and they said they don't know if he'll come out of it, but we think that when the Curse breaks, he might come out of it."

Mary sat down.

"Thanks for telling me," she said.

"Of course," said Emma.

Mary hung up.

She wasn't supposed to go to Storybrooke. That was the rule. Regina would recognize her.

Mary walked out to her car, put the key in the ignition and started the drive to Maine. Her husband needed her.


	8. Chapter 8: Homework

**Chapter 8: Homework**

The car sped its way towards Maine. It was about a seven-hour drive from Philadelphia to the small town near Portland. Seven hours if you were obeying speed limits.

Mary Margaret had no interest in obeying speed limits. She was going to see her husband again.

[X]

"How did Mom take it?" It was the first question out of August's mouth when Emma was done explaining what had happened. They were in their room in the Inn.

"She was shaken. Her husband has been in a coma in a hospital for 28 years. And she hung up pretty quick."

August sighed.

"So how do we wake him up?" Emma asked.

"True Love's Kiss?" asked August hopefully.

"We can't let Mom near here until the Dark Curse is lifted. You know that."

"What about you? Father-Daughter relationships can be just as powerful as romantic ones."

"I don't know him August," said Emma, "Maybe if he had raised me, or I had any memories of him at all. But I have no clue who he is, except what Mom told us. That's not enough to make love."

"Well," said August, "it's a long shot anyway. He's not suffering from a curse – well he is but that's not what's keeping him in a hospital ward. He's suffering the after effects of being stabbed through the stomach before being transported here."

"I told Mom we'd figure something out," started Emma

"And we will," said August, sincere, "Don't worry. We won't disappoint her. But for now, we need to decide what to tell the mayor's kid."

Emma picked up the storybook.

"Maybe we show him this," she said, "If he reads through it all, he might understand better than us telling him."

"Worth a shot," said August, "but we haven't answered one question. Do we want to tell him? He's Regina's son. By adoption, sure, but still. What if he's working for her?"

"He's ten," said Emma, "and besides, I'm pretty sure he was telling the truth last night."

"Your 'superpower'?"

"Yeah."

"There's only two people that's ever been reliable on," said August, "Me and Mom. No offence, but I wouldn't trust him based solely on that."

"That, and my gut. He's not Regina's spy. Just her scared ten-year-old son."

"If you say so," said August, "I'm not the one who's going to have Regina on her ass the second she finds out about me."

[X]

 _It was a story they'd told her. And she had believed it. And so to keep up appearances, they had continued to tell it. Because they thought it was cute. And they knew eventually she'd grow out of it._

 _Because it was just a story._

 _When she was 12, Emma made up her mind. She was not the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. And her mom was just telling her a story._

 _The most shameful part was that she had believed it. She had let it get to her. She thought she could do whatever she wanted because she was The Savior._

 _What a joke._

 _She was a joke._

[X]

It was 7:00. An hour since Emma had called her Mom. Two hours since she'd found her father.

August and Emma and been sitting in their room silent for about half an hour. Trying to deal with what they had found out.

"We should eat something," said August.

Emma nodded.

They went down to the Diner and got some of the special. Local trout. Not bad.

About midway through a largely wordless dinner they were joined by Henry.

"Hey guys," he said.

Emma nearly spat out her trout. There he was, the mayor's kid, grinning at them with his backpack still on him as if he'd just gotten out of school.

"Kid," she said, "could you not surprise me like that? Ever again?"

"Sorry," said Henry, "got impatient."

"Yeah, no kidding," said Emma, "we're having dinner."

"So, what did you decide?" asked Henry. The kid was really cheerful. It was disconcerting, after what they had found.

"August," sighed Emma, "where's the book."

"In our room."

"Tell Granny I'll be back for the rest of the trout," said Emma, "kid follow me."

As Henry and Emma walked up to Emma and August's room, Henry turned to Emma, and asked her a question.

"Are you okay? Because you seem a little upset."

Emma grimaced.

"I just found out that…my father is in a coma."

"Is he here?" asked Henry, "In Storybrooke? Is that why you're here?"

"In a way," said Emma.

They entered Emma and August's room. Emma picked up the book.

"What's that?" asked Henry.

"Answers. But the answers aren't easy to believe. They'll seem almost impossible to you."

"I grew up in a town that was on repeat for ten years – " started Henry.

"More like twenty-eight," said Emma.

" – what I mean is, I don't think I'll have trouble believing anything."

"Trust me kid," said Emma, "what's really going on in this town is pretty hard to believe."

She handed him the book.

"Do not," she said, "let your mother see this. Under any circumstance. And remember. My name is Emma."

"Why is your name important?"

"You'll see," said Emma, "now go home and read."

"This sounds an awful lot like homework. Can't you just tell me what's in the book?"

"Just go home and read the book kid."

[X]

Four hours away. Four hours away from a town called "Storybrooke".

 _What the hell_ , thought Mary, _it's not like I'm not already speeding._

She gave the car all the gas she could.

[X]

 _Emma's newfound love of Chemistry was twofold. First, she turned out to have quite a knack for it. Second, she wanted to be as far away from magic as possible. And as it happened, science seemed pretty far away from magic._

 _She was only in middle school of course, but she did manage to join the science club. Mostly they talked about Physics, which she didn't hate, but Chemistry was what she really found interesting. Physics was all about balls bouncing off of walls. In Chemistry you learned what the world was made of._

[X]

"Did we do the right thing?" asked Emma, "The first thing he might do is show his mom that book."

"That's what I said," said August, "but did you listen to me? No…"

"You still haven't talked to your father, have you?" said Emma.

August shook his head.

"Do you really think he's going to be happy with you when he finds out you were hanging around town all this time and didn't come and visit him. After the curse I mean?"

August shrugged.

"I think he'll be happy to see me again," he said.

[X]

Henry lay down on his bed with the book and began reading.

 _Once Upon a Time_. No author. It was a book of fairytales. What was a book of fairytales supposed to tell him?

[X]

Ten minutes out of Storybrooke, Mary parked her car. She couldn't make a big fuss on her way in. Nobody could see her. She would have to walk the rest of the way.

She could feel it when she walked into town. It felt like home. She took a second to breathe in the air.

At that point she was hit over the head by something. She tried to look up at her attacker, but blackness took her too fast.


	9. Chapter 9: The Routine

**Chapter 9: The Routine**

Regina entered Mr. Gold's shop. She had heard from Sydney Glass about some unusual activity happening there late the previous night.

"Mr. Gold," she said, greeting the former imp.

"Madame Mayor," he grinned back at her, "What an unexpected pleasure. How may I be of help?"

"I'm looking for a gift for my son's birthday," lied Regina.

"Not a lot in the way of children's gift material here," said Mr. Gold, "but I invite you to look around the store. Who knows what you'll find?"

"Maybe you have something in the back," said Regina, "if I could take a look?"

"I'm afraid the back of the store is off limits," said Mr. Gold, "if you have a request, I could take a look myself."

"I'd rather look myself," said Regina.

"Madame Mayor," said Mr. Gold, "as I said the back of the store is off limits. Now either buy something, or leave, unless this is a social call."

"I think I'm going to the back anyway," said Regina, gritting her teeth.

"Please," said Mr. Gold forcefully.

Damn. The magic word.

Regina had made a deal with Rumpelstilstkin that she had to grant any request he made as long as he said "please". The troubling thing was, Mr. Gold had an annoying habit of appending any request he made with an insincere "please".

Without saying a word, Regina walked out of the store.

[X]

Mary Margaret woke up. She looked around. It looked like she was in some kind of storage area with a bunch of miscellaneous items stacked up in various places.

She was tied to a chair and gagged. Great.

She heard voices. Regina's voice. Oh no. This would end poorly.

"Please," another voice. It sounded familiar, but she could quite make out who it was.

Footsteps. Was it Regina?

The door opened. It wasn't Regina. It was the Dark One. Rumpelstilstkin, though he looked much more human than he had in their world. Made sense.

Rumpelstilstkin removed her gag.

"I'm sorry," he said, "about the gag. But I really couldn't have you wandering around town on your own, could I?"

"What is this?" said Mary, panicking, "what are you doing?"

"Trying to ensure that the Savior actually breaks the curse," said Rumpelstilstkin, "and doesn't waste time trying to get her mother out of jail. Trying to ensure that Regina doesn't find out that Emma Margaret is the daughter of Snow White. In essence, I'm trying to protect your daughter. You should be thrilled!"

Mary thought back to when they last spoke. It was true, Rumpelstilstkin seemed less that amiable to the idea of the Dark Curse then.

"My husband is here," said Mary.

"As is every person from our land. But your daughter has already been here for three days. What makes you come here now?"

"In a coma," said Mary.

For a second, Rumpelstilstkin almost seemed sympathetic.

"Well, you're stuck here now dearie," he said, "The Curse won't let anyone from our land leave town. So we just have to keep you out of sight. Not even your daughter can know that you're here."

[X]

 _The hardest part was keeping to a routine._

 _Routines are boring._

 _When Rumpelstilstkin first arrived in Storybrooke, he was instantly given the memories, such as they were, and knowledge of his Storybrooke persona. Regina had stuck to her word, he knew that much. A man of wealth and power he was._

 _The problem was, he knew that time was currently stopped, unlike the residents of the town. And the Queen – or rather mayor – didn't know. He would have to keep to the same routine every day, or Regina might notice, and suspect that he knew._

 _And the last thing he needed was to be embroiled in a 28-year fight with the mayor's office that nobody else in town even knew was happening._

[X]

Henry read all night. It was good thing it was Friday night, so he'd have an excuse for not getting up early.

The storybook was…well if it was true, it would explain a lot. Ten years of weirdness would actually make a kind of sense.

But could he really believe in fairytales? And he really didn't want his mom to be the Evil Queen. And was that really the answer. Was the storybook supposed to be what was actually going on here?

[X]

"I want to see my husband," said Mary.

"Okay," said Rumpelstilstkin, "let's make a deal. You go out at night. You make no contact with your daughter, whoever her brother is, or anybody else. I sneak you into the hospital. You say hello to your dear husband, and then you go live out the rest of the curse in a house that I pick out for you in the woods and you never stick your head out of the door."

"Why would I agree to this deal?" asked Mary.

"Because my only other option is to turn you over to Regina. I don't want to. I really don't want to. But I can't keep you here; the Savior will start trying to search for you instead of being the Savior. I'd rather she know where you are if you're in jail then if she spends all her time worrying that you've croaked in whatever town you three have been living in. So I either leave you to the tender mercies of the Evil Queen, or you take my deal."

Mary thought it over.

"You have a deal," said Mary.

"Remember, Miss Margaret," said Rumpelstilstkin, "don't break a deal with me."

[X]

 _6:00 AM: Wake up._

 _6:10: Shower._

 _6:30: Get dressed_

 _6:35: Make pancakes._

 _6:55: Eat Pancakes  
_

 _7:10: Leave the house for the shop._

 _7:30: Prepare shop for opening._

 _8:02: Open shop for business._

 _And so on._

 _The business of the shop did actually vary from day to since people actually needed things from time to time due to using them up. But they never noticed until they were actually out of things. And running a pawnshop meant business was extremely limited when nobody could be spontaneous._

 _It took extreme concentration from Mr. Gold in order to avoid slipping up, even once. But for 28 straight years he lived through the same day, every day._

 _On the positive side, he did actually run most of the town._

[X]

Looking up information about "Emma Margaret" Regina discovered very little for a while…until she noticed something odd.

Emma Margaret was born on the day of the curse. The same exact day.

That couldn't be a coincidence. Who was this woman?


	10. Chapter 10: Who is Emma Margaret?

**Chapter 10: Who is Emma Margaret?**

 _Basic question really. "Who am I?"_

 _For 5 years, she was the Savior. But now, that she had realized it was just a game, who was she without that looming in her future?_

 _Who was Emma Margaret?_

[X]

It was 5:30 when Emma heard a knock at the door. August was out, presumably to spy on his dad. He thought that she believed him when he said he was doing "research" on the town, even though he never came back with any actual research. He was wrong of course, but it didn't make the claims of research any less funny.

Emma opened her door.

It was the kid. Henry.

He looked upset.

He threw the book back at her.

"There," he said, "I never want to see it again."

[X]

 _On the first day of winter vacation, halfway through seventh grade, Emma's mom and brother asked to "talk to her"._

 _That was the sort of thing that never ended well._

" _Emma," said her mom very seriously._

" _Yeah?" said Emma innocently, wondering what it was she had done this time._

" _You've stopped believing that you're the savior, haven't you?"_

 _Really? That was all?_

 _Emma nodded._

" _It was fun," she said, "pretending that I was born special. But I think I've outgrown kiddie stories mom."_

 _Her mom and her brother exchanged nervous looks._

" _Emma," said her mom, "you are special. And not because you're the Savior."_

" _Thanks mom," said Emma._

" _But," said August, "you are the Savior."_

" _Huh?" said Emma._

" _That's right," said her mom, "you were born in a land of magic called the Enchanted Forest. Your brother is Pinocchio. I am Snow White. Everything we told you when you were seven was true."_

" _You mean," said Emma, "you actually believe that?"_

[X]

Emma Margaret was born on the same day Storybrooke came to be.

To Regina, this was one coincidence too many. Outsiders weren't even supposed to get into the town. And now, this woman shows up in Storybrooke, and, worse yet, decides she wants to live here? This was no coincidence. Her being born the moment that Storybrooke came to be? No coincidence.

Regina made a phone call.

"Sidney," she said, "Yes, it's Regina. I need you to get everything you can find on Emma Margaret's parents."

If her birthday was important, surely her parents were even more so.

Who was Emma Margaret?

[X]

"Kid," said Emma, "let's talk."

"You want me to believe that my mom is some Evil Queen?"

Emma sat down on her bed.

"You didn't show her the book, did you?"

Henry shook his head no.

"Good," said Emma, "that's a start at least. Why not?"

Henry shrugged.

"You should know that everything in this book happened exactly as it was written. Your mom was the Evil Queen from the Snow White story. My mom was Snow White. And I am Emma, the child whose name Rumpelstilstkin demanded to know. I am the Savior."

"You could have made that book," pointed out Henry.

"Why?" said Emma, "to trick you? Why tell you anything at all?"

Henry shrugged again.

"I believe that this book is true. I found it, on the floor of this very room. This town gave it to me. It wasn't here when I arrived here.

"Or maybe none of that is true. Maybe I'm just crazy. In which case call the police, or whoever law enforcement is in this town, and have them haul my rear off to an insane asylum.

"Your call kid. And you don't have to decide right away. Either believe me now, and help me, and everyone in this town, or don't believe me, and deliver me into the tender clutches of your mother."

"Why would my mother care?" said Henry

"She wouldn't, if I'm insane. But if I'm right, she'll care a great deal that Snow White's kid and the person destined to break her curse is wandering around her town."

[X]

Mr. Gold prided himself on his code. Whether he was a strange magical man in the Enchanted Forest or a pawnbroker in Storybrooke, he never broke a deal.

But it seemed people weren't terribly good at making deals. They ignored the deals.

Rumpelstilstkin would honor the letter of his deal with Snow White. He would let her see her husband. He would set her up in a cabin in the woods that he owned. And then, if it suited him, he would betray her. Because he had never promised not to.

[X]

 _Emma promised her mother and her brother that she would think about it._

 _But what was there to think about? They were clearly insane. Suffering from delusions of being fairy tale characters. August was probably brainwashed by her mom into thinking he was Pinocchio._

 _So that night she quietly packed her things and tried to sneak out the door._

 _She got halfway down the stairs when her mother turned on the light._

" _I'm a light sleeper," she said, "Quality I picked up during my bandit years."_

" _Right," said Emma sarcastically._

" _You don't want to be the Savior," said her mom, "You don't realize it, but that's really why you're doing this. It's not that you find it all too hard to believe – though that doesn't hurt – it's that you don't want that responsibility on you any more."_

" _Don't pretend you understand me," said Emma._

" _I'm your mother. I understand you as well as anyone. When you don't want something, you try and pretend it doesn't exist. You did it with your reading assignments, you did it when Jacob Felton didn't want to go out with you, and you're doing it now."_

" _Yeah," said Emma, "except this doesn't exist. For real."_

" _I was," admitted her mom, "considering just letting you not believe. Heading over to Storybrooke myself, after you'd grown up, and trying to break the curse myself or, failing that settling down with my husband and living a life. Letting you have the life you wanted."_

" _Storybrooke?" said Emma. She had never heard the name before._

" _It's a town in Maine," said her mom, "right next to where we arrived from the wardrobe. There are very few records of it from before your birthday, and the town population hasn't changed since. Which means it's probably where our people are."_

" _Right," said Emma again._

" _The point is," said her mom, "August made me realize something. I can't let that happen. You have to be the one to do it. I can't break the curse because I'm not the Savior. Just her mother. In the end it doesn't really matter what you want. And I know that's not fair. But that's just how life is. You have to do this."_

 _Emma sat there, mulling it over._

No _, she decided_ , this is insane. My mom is insane. My brother is insane. I'm getting the hell out of here before I go insane too.

 _So she walked out the door, while her mom yelled something about finding her._

 _She had spent the last 5 years believe that she was special. That she was "The Savior". But now she was striking out on her own. Now it was time she figured out just who the hell Emma Margaret was._

[X]

Henry didn't want to believe Emma, but he held onto the book anyway. He wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not, but either way, he needed a way to know for sure.

He needed to find out who Emma Margaret was.


	11. Chapter 11: Sources

**Chapter 11: Sources**

"Hello my name is Sydney Glass I'm a reporter for the Storybrooke _Daily Mirror_ – It's a local paper I'm sure you've never heard of it. Anyway I was calling because I was wondering if you had any information about an Emma Swan…There was a missing poster from Philadelphia dating back to 1994…No she was found, that's not why I'm calling…I'm afraid I'm a little too busy to go to Philadelphia myself…Well when a said I was "a" reporter for the _Daily Mirror_ technically I am "the" reporter – and founder – for the Daily Mirror…Because a newspaper is a mirror. We see in it a reflection of our community, and therefore, ultimately ourselves…Yes I do know how pretentious that sounds… I was wondering if I could have a word with the police officer who handled that case…Yes I am aware it has been 16 years…Yes, I'll hold."

[X]

 _When Emma ran away from home with her mother watching as she ran out the door, she ran, quite literally. Her mother was fast – she ran competitively – and Emma knew she couldn't outrun her. But fortunately, she wouldn't have to run far._

 _Just run down enough corners to where her mother couldn't find her._

 _As soon as Emma had accomplished this feat, she checked her pockets. Sure enough, there was her mother's credit card, in perfect condition._

[X]

"Hello, Will? Yes, it's Sidney, we've never actually met, but I called you up about that baby in Austin?…Yes, I know it was quite a while ago, though quite honestly it feels like it was yesterday…Anyway, I was wondering…listen Will, just listen…I was wondering…The _Storybrooke Daily Mirror_ …Like the reflective surface you stare at every morning to make sure you've actually shaved your face…Sorry, that was a bit glib…I happen rather to like the name of my newspaper…Will, I was wondering if you had any contacts in Philadelphia – or any contacts who lived in Philadelphia 16 years ago…Great let me just get a pen…"

[X]

"Mr. Gold", as the Dark One was apparently known in this world, lived up to his end of the bargain. That night, Mary got to see her husband again. She was snuck into the hospital, and told to keep her head down in order to avoid the security cameras.

She was given directions to his bed.

And there he was. Her husband.

Emma had described seeing her father lying in bed in a coma as a sinking feeling. For Mary it was something quite different.

It was almost uplifting.

The feeling would subside of course, but for now, the man she loved, a man she hadn't seen in twenty-eight years was lying in front of her. Mary cried happy tears. She had found her Prince Charming.

Now if only she could figure out how to wake him up.

[X]

 _2-4-2-7-6-4-6-4._

 _If there was one thing her Mom hadn't failed to do it was make a difficult PIN for her credit card._

 _Eight digits. Really. Who does that?_

 _Fortunately, Emma had managed to memorize the thing while her mother was typing it in. Her Mom was incredibly deliberate about typing out the passcode, as if she was unsure if the numbers would actually function, and Emma was smart enough to peek over at the keypad while her Mom thought Emma wasn't looking._

 _How much money to take out?_

 _As much as possible?_

 _No, better leave some money for August and Mom._

 _There wasn't much money in the bank, so Emma took out $160, and then started making her way to the 30_ _th_ _Street Train Station._

[X]

"Hello, is this Roderick Pryce?…Hello, this is Sydney Glass, I'm a reporter for the _Storybrooke Daily Mirror_ …It's a local paper…Storybrooke…I honestly don't know how the town got its name, anyway I was given this number by William Robertson…He seemed okay over the phone…Maine…about 35 miles south of Portland…No, Portland Maine…No, there is a Portland, Maine, it's the largest city in Maine…about 60 thousand people I think, I wouldn't know offhand…Look I have called for a reason…No, we don't get very many visitors in Storybrooke, though that is actually part of why I'm calling…No, we're just a small town…Not really sure of our population…A very busy one, who doesn't have time to memorize the results of the town census, no if you'll just wait for a second, we actually have a visitor in town, and the first one to come since, well as far back as I can remember actually…Like I said, it's just a small town, anyway this woman, Emma Margaret – who showed up claiming her name was Emma Smith by the way – well I've been asked by – well a friend – to look into her past and I've discovered that she ran away from home 16 years ago…12 years old…look I was just wondering if you had some old police contacts, that might be able to give me some more information, I've contacted the police department, but I don't think that they're going to give me any information…I'm ready, give me the numbers…"

[X]

 _The train left the station slowly._

" _Where are you headed?"_

 _The woman asking the question was a mother of two. Her daughter was sitting next to her, while her son, who was a bit older, was sitting on his own by a window._

 _She was asking it to the blonde girl, who couldn't have been older than 14, sitting on her own across the aisle from her._

" _Boston," said the girl, looking out the window._

 _The mother thought that this was an odd way to respond to the question, so maybe out of sheer mothering instinct, maybe because she wasn't sure what else to do she said, "Hey, can I buy you lunch?"_

 _The girl smiled just a little, as if unsure._

" _Sure," she said._

[X]

"Hello, is this Mark Weston?…Yes this is Sidney Glass from the _Storybrooke Daily Mirror_ , a small newspaper for a small town in Maine, I understand that you were the officer assigned to a case of a runaway kid from Philadelphia?…Emma Margaret…Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about that case?…Absolutely…Oh, and we've been having difficulty finding any pictures of the mother, Mary Margaret, if I give you my e-mail address could send me one?…Great! Thanks!…"


	12. Chapter 12: She Knows

**Chapter 12: She Knows**

"Excuse me."

It was Mr. Gold. Mary turned around to look at him.

"Yes?"

"You need to go, now."

Mary put down her husband's hand and turned to face Mr. Gold.

"Can I have a little longer?"

"In about ten minutes, somebody is going to stop by and check on John Doe's vitals. And by that point in time you must be gone, I will take no chances."

Mary kissed her husbands hand and then followed the Dark One out of the hospital.

"I was hoping your kiss would wake him up," commented Mr. Gold.

"I'm sorry?" said Mary.

"Only the Savior, your daughter, can break the curse, but what's keeping John Doe in that coma is the curse. You could break through some of it, for an individual, with True Love's kiss."

"So why didn't it work?"

"Maybe because," said Mr. Gold, "he doesn't remember you. After all, it has to work both ways."

"Yes," said Mary, "I remember."

"Don't worry," said Mr. Gold, "when your daughter breaks the curse, your True Love will awaken."

Mary nodded.

[X]

"Emma Margaret".

Not exactly the most exciting set of results.

Henry was searching her name online. He got…nothing.

She didn't even have a Facebook profile. No social media, barely any information on her at all. Graduation, from the Philadelphia public school she'd gone to. Useless, except that she'd lived in Philadelphia.

Also there was a British illustrator with the same name. Because of course there was.

[X]

"To be honest, there isn't much," Sydney said to the mayor, "I'll keep digging of course, but what I've got isn't exactly inspiring."

"Well, you'd better tell me what you have. And then I'll decide if you're worth keeping around."

Sometimes Sydney Glass marveled at the incredible woman that Regina Mills was. The strength of that woman. The drive. Her ability to be a mother and run a town largely on her own.

This, however, was one of the times when Sydney wondered how the hell nobody had ever tried running against her. She wasn't exactly good with people. Any people.

"Well, her mother raised Emma and her brother on her own. Emma got good grades. She went to public school in Philadelphia, and she made the Honor Role out of Philadelphia, when she turned 18, got a job straight away. Never bothered going to college.

"Her brother, August, is adopted, and her elder by four years. I couldn't contact the adoption agency that she got him from, but it's probably due to outdated information.

"She ran away from home when she was twelve. Ended up in Boston of all places. Then came home on her own with, according to the policeman, a copy of _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_."

Sydney chuckled a bit at this, but Regina seemed to take note of it, as if the choice of movie was significant in some way.

"Anyway, I wasn't able to get much else out of her."

"What about this mother?" asked Regina.

Sydney pulled out a copy of the photo of Mary Margaret he'd been e-mailed.

"Mary Margaret. Even less information about her than her daughter, to my shock. Doesn't even seem to have any employment history until 1982. Worked at an animal shelter for…"

Sydney trailed off. Mayor Mills seemed transfixed by the picture.

"And now," she said, "it all makes sense."

Mayor Mills grabbed the picture from Sydney, and left, leaving Sydney very confused.

[X]

" _What did you say to her?" said August. His sister had just run out the door. Mom had woken him up._

" _Tried to convince her it was all true."_

" _Didn't work, did it," said August._

" _Nope."_

 _They sat on his bed for a second._

" _Do you think she'll come back?" asked August._

" _One way or the other," said Mary, "on her 28_ _th_ _Birthday she ends up in Storybrooke, Maine. And one way or the other she sets us free. I just hope she comes back home to us first."_

[X]

It was 11:00, when there was a knock at the door of Emma and August's room. Emma opened the door. It was, of all people, the mayor.

"Madame Mayor," Emma said, somewhat groggily, "what can I do for you?"

The mayor simply showed Emma a picture of her mother.

"Oh," said Emma. What else was there to say?

"We need to talk," said the mayor.

[X]

" _9-1-1 what is your emergency?"_

" _It's my daughter…Emma…she ran away from home last night, and I thought she'd be back by now but she's not and I'm so scared…"_

[X]

"The one thing I don't understand," said Mayor Mills, "is why you waited 28 years to show up here. I understand why your mother didn't come her herself. And I understand why she might have waited until you were say…eighteen…to send you here. But why wait so long?"

Emma and August sat there and looked at each other.

"Never mind though," said Regina, "it doesn't matter. Because I will find a way to destroy you."

"What with?" said Emma, "this is a world without magic, remember?"

"And here," said Regina, in what Emma could only think of as regally, "I am the mayor. I run this world. You have no allies here."

"And I will beat you," said Emma, "and I will work out how to break this curse."

"And what makes you think you're so special?" asked Regina

Emma smiled at her. No reason to let the Evil Queen know about the Savior.

"Who's he?" asked Regina, indicating August.

"My brother," said Emma.

"He's four years older than you," said Regina.

"So?"

"So he shouldn't be. So your mother didn't have a kid when I made the curse, let alone a four year old."

Emma's mind was racing to come up with an answer. She couldn't tell Regina the truth. That would put August's father at risk.

"I'm adopted," said August, "Mom found me on the side of the road when they arrived in this world. I have no idea who my parents are."

"And she just took you in out of the goodness of her heart, a poor single parent?" Regina paused, "Actually that does sound like Snow." And then she walked out, slamming the door behind her.

"The best lie," grinned August, "is the one with a bit of the truth mixed in."

Emma nodded.

"We are so screwed, aren't we?" she said.

"Oh yeah," said August, "big time."


	13. Chapter 13: Essentials

**Chapter 13: Essentials**

 _Boston is a big city. So is Philadelphia of course, but Philadelphia was a big city that Emma knew. Upon her arrival in Boston she felt completely lost._

What am I going to do now? _she thought. She still had some money from her mom's bank account but she didn't have her mom's credit card since she knew her mom could find her in Boston if she used the thing. And the last thing Emma wanted was for her apparently insane mother to start messing things up for her._

I really didn't think this through, _she thought_ , did I?

[X]

There was a knock at August and Emma's door.

Emma opened it. It was Granny.

"Look, I'm sorry," she said, "this is actually really embarrassing, but as it so happens, as an Inn, there's apparently a city ordinance that says residents can only stay in temporary housing for five days. I didn't realize it. But you're going to have to leave tomorrow at 10:00 in the morning."

"Let me guess," said Emma, "the mayor's office just phoned you up to remind you of that fact."

Granny nodded and closed the door.

"She's declared war," said August ominously, "I don't think we'll survive in Mayor Mills' town for very long without a place to stay."

"There's always your dad."

"Who doesn't know he's my father and I haven't spoken to in 28 years."

"Well," said Emma, "today's the day you go and talk to him."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to go see about making a deal," said Emma and walked out of the room before August could protest.

[X]

 _Pickpocketing is hard. But it was worth the effort when, on her fourth try, Emma managed to grab the wallet of a well-dressed man._

 _On the first try, she'd been so inept the person she "accidentally bumped into" was convinced she was blind._

 _On the second and third tries she'd had to run before the cops got called._

 _On the fourth try, fate seemed to step in, as the businessman in question was walking down a crowded street with his wallet partway sticking out. She grabbed it and then quickly walked in the opposite direction, her heart beating a ridiculous beat. She was a successful pickpocket. She stuck the wallet in her jeans and looked for an alleyway to see what the man had on him._

[X]

"I KNOW WHERE SHE IS"

The fax machine jumped to life for, as far as Regina could remember, the first time in 28 years. Regina had actually been wanting to get rid of the thing. But on this particular day the fax machine printed something out.

There was a picture of Snow White on the fax and an address.

Regina took a second to worry about who had sent her the fax. But that would have to wait.

[X]

When Emma walked into Mr. Gold's shop he was turning off his fax machine.

"Sending a fax?" said Emma, "Really?"

"I'm sort of old fashioned," said Mr. Gold.

"Apparently."

"Was there something you were looking for Ms. Margaret?"

"Housing," said Emma.

"Well, as it happens," said Mr. Gold, "I do happen to own an apartment building nearby. It has a vacancy, I believe. I can give you a meeting with the building manager."

"Great," said Emma, "what's the price?"

"Some amount of money or other," said Mr. Gold, "I don't know the specific amount."

"I thought –" started Emma, "– well I've heard anyway that with you there's always some sort of catch."

"You mean my propensity for making deals? It's true, I like to game the system in my favor," said Mr. Gold, "however in this case the system is set up in my favor. You rent out the apartment, you pay rent every month to me, and the only price I have to pay is the building manager's salary. Well a few other salaries besides that, but it's a lovely system."

They made arrangements for Emma to meet Mr. Gold's building manager, and Emma walked out the door, clearly confused. Mr. Gold smiled at her as the door rang.

If Emma had known what he'd just done…but she didn't even know her mother was in town. So everything was going, more or less, according to plan.

[X]

 _What did she need? Food. Water? No, she could probably find public fountains and the like. Shelter._

 _Okay, that last part was going to be tricky._

 _Emma decided she'd rather not live on the street, especially not the streets of Boston. But having been there one day, she wasn't sure what else to do. She had thrown away the credit card she had pickpocketed. She didn't know the PIN and it was only going to be so long before the man turned it off anyway. In the wallet there had been 82 dollars and some loose change. Enough to pay for a hotel room? Hopefully._

 _She bought a map from a small shop and found something that looked like it would be reasonably low priced. It took her two hours to get there but by some small miracle she managed not to get herself lost._

 _The good news was that the hotel didn't seem to mind that a twelve-year-old girl was asking for a single hotel room. The bad news was that the price was thirty dollars a night. Between what she'd taken out of her mom's bank account, and what she'd pickpocketed she had enough money for eight days, assuming of course that she didn't buy anything to eat._

 _So she reserved a room to herself for three days and hoped she'd find a better answer then._

[X]

Ever since she'd been to see her husband, Mary hadn't been out of her house. It was the deal she'd made with Rumpelstilstkin after all, and it was probably a smart deal as well. It had been quiet. The kitchen was well stocked, the running water was working and the heating was functional. She had all of the essentials.

There was a knock at the door.

Mary had not seen anybody in the day she'd been living there.

Mary opened the door.

It was the huntsman. In a sheriff's uniform.

"Lillian Blanchard?" he said.

"Who?" asked Mary. The man took a look at something on his phone.

"Is this you in this picture?" he said. The phone had on it a picture of her. Or at least it looked like her, but it was taken in a classroom that she'd never been in before.

Mary nodded, unsure.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Daniel Smith and the attempted murder of David Nolan…"


	14. Chapter 14: The Innocent and the Guilty

**Chapter 14: The Innocent and the Guilty**

There was a frantic knock at the door.

Emma and August were packing their things. August hadn't exactly been thrilled that their current landlord was now the Dark One, but he wasn't going to complain too much, seeing as, to their shock, Mr. Gold had not demanded any amount of compensation other than money.

The knock came again.

"I'll get it," groaned August.

Emma sighed. At this point it was becoming very clear that knocking at the door never meant anything good.

It was a man in a police uniform.

"Hello," he said, "I'm Sherriff Graham. We haven't met. I was told you were staying here."

"Is something wrong?" asked August.

"We've arrested your mother for murder."

[X]

 _The amazing thing is, three days go by very quickly when you're poor and don't have a plan to get better. Emma left the hotel without a clue what she was going to do next. Only thing she knew was, she couldn't go back home._

 _Or rather where home used to be._

 _Emma had managed to do some more pickpocketing in those three days, she'd even gotten fairly good at it, but it had occurred to her that she couldn't both keep paying for hotel rooms and keep paying to feed herself. Eventually, she was going to have to choose._

 _Food and homelessness it would be then._

[X]

"We're going to need a lawyer," said Emma.

"Are there any lawyers in Storybrooke?" asked August.

"There must be somewhere," said Emma, "I mean, this town has the entire population of our realm in it. There were…barristers in our realm yes?"

"Don't look at me," said August, "I've spent most of my life in this realm. I can barely remember most of my time over there."

Emma sighed.

"We've got to try," she said, "I don't know where else to go."

"I've got an idea," said August, "You remember when that clock tower went off? Just after we got here? Everybody in town went up to look at the thing. Including Mr. Gold – our new landlord? Anyway, he seemed to be interested in offering me a favor."

Emma turned and looked at her brother. She hoped she was conveying the message "are you nuts?" with her face.

"Weren't you the one who didn't want to rent from him? And now you want to ask a favor?"

"That was different," explained August, "I thought he'd make us do something extra besides pay him money?"

Emma shook her head, "And you think he won't this time? I don't want to owe that man any favors."

"You know something mom told me once? In our realm, everybody ended up owing the Dark One in some way. It was how he got his real power, not his magic. I don't think we can live in the same town as Mr. Gold without owing him a favor or two."

"And that's a good thing is it?"

"No," said August, "But this is about Mom. If we owe him a favor and it gets Mom out of jail, and more to the point, away from Regina, then it's worth it."

Emma considered this.

"Fine," she said, "But I make the deal, not you."

[X]

Lillian Blanchard.

Where did that name come from?

"Blanchard," Mary said it out loud, "Blanchard."

Nothing seemed to connect.

"Blanche," a familiar voice said, "like the character in _Streetcar Named Desire_? It means 'white' in French."

It was Regina. Not a day older than the last time Mary had seen her.

"Hello Snow," said Regina.

Brave face. Mary decided she would have to put on a brave face.

"Have you ever seen," she said, " _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_. Really good movie. They really got my likeness. They made you a little too…thin. You looked like snake. And of course they made me into a completely useless little thing. But hey, it was the 1930s."

"Are you just going to prattle away all day?" asked Regina.

"You haven't aged," said Mary, "I can't deny, I'm a little jealous. You were once my stepmother. And now look at us. I could be yours."

"I have waited for this moment," said Regina, "for most of my life."

"You have me just where you want, Regina. So go on then. Kill me. One way or another, you will lose. Evil always –"

"– That's the thing about this world," said Regina, "Evil doesn't always lose. People far worse than I ended up winners. Ever heard of Stalin? The man is practically my personal hero. When we first got here, I ended up with all these memories of a different life. The life of a woman named 'Regina Mills.' And memories of learning about a man named 'Joseph Stalin' who stole power, did terrible things with it, and lived a long, mostly happy life."

"You really think Stalin was happy?" asked Mary.

"Of course."

"He was an ambitious man who got everything he thought he wanted. But have you ever seen him smile? In his pictures –"

"The point is," said Regina, "he won."

"Okay," said Mary, "Maybe evil can win in this world. But do you think evil can be happy?"

"I'm pretty happy right now," said Regina.

[X]

 _Don't waste money. Anything you can steal, steal it._

 _Emma actually walked away from the stand with a backpack and nobody noticed it. Then she ran like hell. Just to be sure._

 _Food next._

 _It proved more difficult than she thought it would be to transfer food from the stand to her backpack without anybody noticing. But she managed it. She even bought a couple of things without stealing them, just to keep suspicion off of herself._

 _She was just thinking she was so clever when she heard another girl's voice behind her._

" _I saw you in there."_

 _Emma froze. She wanted to run, but her legs didn't seem to want to move._

" _It's okay," said the voice, "I won't rat you out."_

 _Emma turned around. The girl looked to be about her age, maybe a year older. She had long black hair and was about half an inch taller than her._

" _So which is it?" asked the girl, "orphan or runaway? Or is this some sort of Oliver Twist deal? You steal for whoever your guardian is. 'Cause that would be cool."_

 _Emma stared at the girl._

" _By the way," said the girl, "I'm Lily. What's your name?"_

[X]

"Daniel Smith and David Nolan," said Mary, "The man I'm accused of killing and the man I'm accused of trying to kill. Daniel Smith is, I'm assuming, Daniel the stable boy. But who's David Nolan?"

"Oh, he was a charming man," said Regina, putting extra emphasis on the word "charming". Mary got it instantly.

"He's in a coma," said Mary.

"You put him in a coma," Regina feigned indignance, "You stabbed him with knife 28 years ago. There are witnesses. His wife has been visiting him every night ever since."

"His wife?"

"Charming woman. Kathryn's her name."

"You undid my marriage?"

"I don't think you get it," said Regina, "in this world. I make the rules. So yes, I undid your marriage. But are you at all surprised?"

Mary nodded, resigned.

"I'm assuming in this world I did a lot worse to Daniel than just being a naïve little girl."

"You stabbed him in the heart. Beforehand. A few days before the David Nolan stabbing. In both cases, jealousy is assumed to be the motive. Daniel was just a teenager; David was barely 21 years old. Both of them happy together with their…well I suppose you might call it their true loves…until you came along."

Mary laughed. She couldn't help it. It was all too absurd.

"It is then assumed," said Regina, ignoring Mary, "that you fled town after witnesses saw you stab David Nolan."

"I will give you this," said Mary, "it is a well-told fiction. The irony of me going to jail for not just the death of your stable boy but my own husband's attempted murder. Well done."

"The thing is," said Regina, "You and I both know that I am not a forgiving woman. I intend to go after your daughter and your adopted son with all of the fervor that I went after you. Unless…you plead guilty. Plead guilty, and I will let them live in peace. They can even live in peace in Storybrooke."

Mary only considered the proposal a second. She considered the implications of the proposal a good deal longer.

If Regina was even offering to leave Emma and August alone, then she did not know that Emma was the Savior. So at least one piece of good news.

Of course, the second that Regina found out the truth – and it would not remain a secret forever – Regina would be forced to go back on her word.

And besides, Emma and August could take care of themselves.

"Well," said Regina, "will you do it?"

"My kids can take care of themselves," she said, "So, no deal."

Regina smiled.

"I thought not."

[X]

The bell on Mr. Gold's shop rang.

"Ah, Miss Margaret – or should I say Miss Blanchard – I thought you might be stopping by. I'm sorry to hear about your mother. I take it you didn't know?"

"This all happened – or was supposed to happen – before I was born," said Emma.

"Too true," said Mr. Gold smiling a bit, "what can I do for you?"

"You offered help – to my brother – well you offered it to my brother but it was meant for both of us –"

"And you're here to ask if I could help you out – or to be more precise help your mother out of her current predicament. Well, I am good with the law, or manipulating it to my advantage. And the case against your mother is actually very sketchy. A lot of the evidence seems very circumstantial."

"So you'll help," said Emma.

"No," said Mr. Gold, "not for free. And I don't think you could afford me. Goodbye Miss Blanchard."

"Margaret," Emma corrected Mr. Gold, "And I was hoping that if I couldn't afford to pay we might come to some alternate arrangement."

"Miss…Margaret. I'm really not interested in that sort of thing. Goodbye."

Emma was taken aback.

"Not like that," she said, "I meant, I was hoping we could make some sort of deal."

Gold nodded.

"You mean, I help get your mother out of jail, and in return you owe me…a favor."

Emma nodded.

Gold appeared to think about it for a time.

"All right. I'm interested."

"What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?" asked Emma.

"I haven't made my mind up yet. Like I said – you'll owe me a favor. Now as far as your mother's defense –"

"–No," Emma interrupted, "No nebulous favors. Nothing I can't control right now."

Gold grinned at her.

"Very intelligent of you Miss Margaret. Very well then, I'll think of something. Come back to my shop tomorrow, and we'll see what you can do for me."

[X]

" _Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"_

 _Emma had followed the girl – Lily for about a block and half and hadn't said a word._

" _Thanks for not ratting me out?" said Emma._

 _Lily grinned at her._

" _No problem," she said, "but I was more wondering about your name."_

" _Oh," said Emma, "I'm Emma. Why didn't you rat me out?"_

" _Not my problem. Though if you really want to steal something, you should use somebody else's plastic."_

" _Plastic?"_

" _Card? As in credit card?"_

 _Emma nodded._

" _I stole mom's. But I had to get rid of it. I don't want her knowing where I am."_

" _So you're a runaway."_

 _Emma nodded._

" _Cool," said Lily, "why'd you run away?"_

"' _Cause my mom and my brother are crazy."_

" _Do you mean actually crazy like they should be thrown in the nuthouse? Or do you just mean you don't like them very much?"_

" _Actually crazy. They think…well it's not important, the point is they're crazy."_

 _Lily paused for a second._

" _You know, I think my mom might actually take you in. She's always complaining about how some people shouldn't have kids because they're irresponsible, 'cause I was found in a basket when I was a kid. You tell her your mom isn't fit to be a parent and she'll warm up to you."_

 _Emma looked in her backpack. She'd managed to steal enough food for another two days, and then she'd have to start over again. She had enough money to get maybe one more day at a hotel, if it was a cheap one._

" _What about your dad?" asked Emma._

" _Oh, he does whatever mom says half the time."_

" _Okay," said Emma, "I'll go meet your mom."_

[X]

The next morning, Mr. Gold arrived at his shop to discover that it had been broken into, and a very particular contract had been stolen from his safe.

Well, he had needed something for the Savior to do for him, something that might put her in an even more difficult position than she was already.

This would do nicely.


	15. Chapter 15: Gold's Exchanges

**AN: Apologies for the delay, _et cetera_. Have had the first draft hanging around for a while, but life suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks (okay, that may have been an exageration).**

 **Chapter 15: Gold's Exchanges**

Emma discovered that her "favor" for Mr. Gold would be to hunt down Ashley Boyd, a young girl who, as it happened, Emma had encouraged the day before to take control of her life in a chance encounter at Granny's. This chance encounter turned out to be something more. Ashley Boyd, who as far as Emma could tell was actually Cinderella, was a bit of a mess, but Emma sorted through it with one minor problem.

Mr. Gold owned her baby.

Looking at the Cinderella story in the storybook explained why.

It turned out that Cinderella's fairy godmother had been, of all people, Rumpelstilstkin. He had made his deal for her firstborn and that deal, it seemed, transferred over into this world.

"That sort of thing would never hold up in court," Emma pointed out to August.

"I suppose not," said August, "but the thing is, in this town I don't think that matters."

Still, Emma went ahead and made a foolish promise to Ashley Boyd, promising her she'd sort out her baby problems.

"Mom's life is in the balance," pointed out August.

"So's the life of Ashley's kid," said Emma.

So Emma confronted Mr. Gold over the matter. She gave a little speech, in front of a few witnesses just to be sure everybody was clear on what was going on.

"Alright," said Mr. Gold, "you win. Ashley can keep her baby – at a price."

"What do you want her to do," said Emma.

"Oh, it's got nothing to do with her. You see you and I had a deal. You deliver Miss Boyd to me, I help get your mother out of jail."

"Deal's off," said Emma.

"No, it isn't," said Mr. Gold, "Because if you call off the deal, then I keep Miss Boyd's baby. Are we clear?"

"What do you want," said Emma.

"A favor. And this time, you owe me a favor at some point in the future."

"What did I say last time Gold," said Emma, "no nebulous favors. Nothing I can't control."

"You want your mother out of jail?" said Mr. Gold, "I'll give you something specific for that. But you want your mother out of jail and for me to let Miss Boyd go back on a deal she made with me. Miss Blanchard, Miss Margaret, whatever you want to call yourself. People don't break deals with me. So if you want me to make an exception…then I'm going to ask for a lot in return. And I don't know what yet. So you will agree to this undisclosed favor or your mother rots in prison and Miss Boyd gives me her baby. Do we understand one another?"

Emma agreed.

August was unhappy.

"You don't let that man make that kind of deal with you," he said, "first rule of living in a world with Rumpelstilstkin in it: only make deals when you have to and always be sure you know what you're giving up in return. Cinderella lost her baby because she didn't read the fine print. What are you going to lose because you let 'Mr. Gold' make up his own fine print?"

"He'll ask a favor of me later. As for now, Mr. Gold doesn't know about magic. So whatever he asks me for, it will be something unimportant – cosmically speaking."

"We don't know he doesn't know about magic," pointed out August, "that's just my best guess."

"Look August," said Emma, "I'm not happy about this. But I didn't see any other choice. Not just for mom, but for Ashley and her kid. He called my bluff, okay? Besides, wasn't the whole deal with the devil thing your idea?"

"Yeah," said August, "but this was a big risk."

"Worth it," said Emma, "we need to get mom out of jail and away from Regina."

[X]

 _August Margaret. The name alone had gotten him laughs. "August" wasn't exactly the manliest name…he had chosen it but he hadn't known any better when he chose it, he had just liked the sound of the word. And of course "Margaret" got him tons of laughs._

 _But even one of the least popular kids in school managed to get near-universal sympathy for his kid sister running off._

" _You okay?" Wally asked. Wally was a friend, of sorts, mostly because they both shared an interest in telling stories._

" _I've had better weeks," grunted August. It had been eight days since Emma had run off._

" _I wouldn't mind my brother running away from school," said Wally proving what August had suspected – Wally was completely incapable of genuine empathy, "but that's mostly because he's kind of a terrible human being."_

" _Don't worry, I think he's a year away from running away with your parents money in tow. I believe it's what they call a 'football scholarship'."_

 _Wally rolled his eyes._

" _Truth is, I don't much like Emma either," admitted August, "I mean, she's a brat but, I'm scared about her. I think if your brother really ran away I think he'd feel the same."_

" _I don't know August," said Wally, "I'm not sure I could bring it in myself to feel worried about big brother Mitchell."_

" _You would," said August._

" _How's your mom doing?" asked Wally._

" _Impossible as it might sound," said August, "she's been through worse. She's still a wreck, don't get me wrong, but at least she's used to the feeling, you know?"_

" _No I really don't," pointed out Wally, "How is it that your mom went through worse?"_

" _Let's just say mom had a rough life. She lived a real riches to rags story. Twice over."_

[X]

"Mr. and Miss Margaret are asking to see their mother," said Mr. Gold, "she has that privilege."

"Very well sir," said Sheriff Graham. "I'll be at my desk."

"Your desk, is well within earshot of the cell," pointed out Mr. Gold, "and my client is entitled to a private conference with her children."

"I'll be outside the station," said Graham.

"If you two don't mind, I'd like you to go with Sherriff Graham," said Mr. Gold, "I'll come and get you when we're ready."

"I'm sorry?" asked Emma.

"I need to talk to my client about her case, alone."

Emma looked over to August.

"This was your idea," said August.

Emma nodded, and they left the room.

"Are you a lawyer in this world too?" asked Mary.

"In this world," said Mr. Gold, "I passed the bar 35 years ago. I'm the closest thing this town has to a lawyer. Now let's talk about the important things here. I have agreed, as part of a deal with your daughter to represent you. I never agreed to do it well. That's the agreement I'm making with you in return for…your silence."

Mary looked up at Mr. Gold.

"It's always technicalities with you," she said, "What do you mean by silence?"

"Exactly what I say," said Mr. Gold, "you don't tell your daughter or your son or – just to be safe here – Regina that I have my memories intact."

Mary gave it some consideration. Gold had clearly played his cards well.

"Why is this so important to you?"

"The less people know my secret, the better for me," said Mr. Gold, "it's that simple."

"You won't represent me well if I don't make this deal?"

Mr. Gold nodded.

Mary looked up at him again.

Not a lot of options. In fact, it seemed like she only had the one Mr. Gold was offering. But lying to her children? She had pledged to be better than that. She had pledged to be a hero.

But you don't make deals with the devil and maintain your purity. And the devil was the only one offering a way out.

"Fine," said Mary, "I'll keep quiet."

"We should go over your defense before I get your children," said Mr. Gold.

"Wait," said Mary, "one more question. How did Sherriff Graham find me? You said I'd be safe in that house in the woods."

"And you would have been," said Mr. Gold, "but this was never about protecting you, dearie, it was always about the Savior. And in this case, making sure that the Savior owes me a favor."

"You betrayed me?"

"Do you know who you're dealing with?"

Mary nodded. It seemed that even in this world, Rumpelstilstkin was very good at offering people no choices but his own.

"What does Emma owe you?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'll know it when it happens. Now as far as your case, the events as described never happened of course, we both know that when all of this was supposed to happen you, Regina, your respective True Loves, and me were all in an entirely different realm. However, more of interest to us is that a lot of the evidence, which might seem airtight, starts to look a lot less so when put under a microscope, for example…"

[X]

Emma and August sat outside the sheriff's office with Sheriff Graham.

"The original case," explained the Sheriff, "was before my time. About thirty years ago. I – I think I was a kid then. Must have heard about it in the news or something."

"You look a lot younger than thirty," said Emma. August rolled his eyes. Was his sister using the weird time folding stuff that had come from the curse as an excuse to flirt with the sheriff?

August walked into the street; it was nighttime. He looked up at the stars.

In their realm, the stars were meaningful. They couldn't predict the future, necessarily but they were another canvas to tell stories on. The stories of great people and great battles of the past were inscribed in the stars. That's what their mom had told them.

Here, though they were just stars. Giant balls of gas so far away that some of the stars that he could see probably didn't even exist anymore.

"You do much hunting?" he heard Emma ask. August desperately tried to avoid the urge to throw something at her.

For the first time in a long time, August felt a little homesick for the place he was born in. For the man that had built him out of wood, the fairy that had given him life twice over and the stars that told stories.


	16. Chapter 16: What am I Doing Here?

**Chapter 16: What am I Doing Here?**

" _Crazy how?" Lilly's mom asked Emma._

 _Lily had brought Emma over to her house and had, as promised introduced Emma to her mom._

" _Uh…I'd rather not say, Mrs. Page," said Emma. Why did she feel so embarrassed? It wasn't her stupid delusion._

" _Should I call CPS?" Mrs. Page was being considerate, but Emma was scared._

" _Please. I've got no family besides mom and my brother. I…I guess I don't want to see them get in trouble."_

 _Mrs. Page nodded._

" _I understand. Wait, that's not right. I think I understand. Okay, I don't have any idea what's going on with you. But you can stay here with Lily – for now. This isn't a permanent arrangement. You want to stay here for good, then we call Child Protective Services, get your mom declared unfit, and James and I – that's my husband – get declared your legal guardians. Also, if you want that to happen, you tell me what's going on with your mom. And we probably have to get your brother out of there. Otherwise, you're on your own."_

" _How long can I stay?" asked Emma._

" _Until I say you can't," said Mrs. Page firmly, and then her tone changed, "Lily, go get the futon out, and set it up in your room."_

 _Emma was happier than she had been since her mom had told her she was the Savior._

[X]

Mr. Gold came out of the Sheriff's station.

"Mr. and Miss. Margaret, I believe your mother would like to speak to you."

"Mr. Gold," said August, "we'd like this to be a private chat, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," said Mr. Gold, "I'll just keep Sheriff Graham company."

They walked back into the station.

Emma took a better look around the station. A single computer, at least ten years old sat on a desk otherwise occupied by several orderly stacks of paper. A couple of chairs were pulled out near the single cell in the room. The cell for its part was exactly what you'd expect. A bed hung off of a concrete wall over a concrete floor.

On the bed sat Mary Margaret, their mother. She smiled sadly.

"I'm afraid I screwed up just a bit," she said.

Emma laughed. She couldn't help it.

"What were you doing in Storybrooke?" asked August.

Their mom sighed.

"You told me Charming was in a coma, in the hospital. I panicked."

August buried his head in his hands. Emma for her part was upset with her mother, but decided to avoid saying anything.

[X]

 _Lily had been right about one thing: when Mr. Page got back, his initial reaction might have been shock, but after Mrs. Page explained the situation to him, he accepted it instantly, without argument._

 _The Pages weren't letting Emma stick around for free of course. In fact, if Lily was telling the truth, Emma had gotten a few of Lily's chores, a few of her parents' chores, and was responsible for making a few things happen that were supposed to happen last week. And considering the sheer number of leaves in the Pages' driveway, Emma could certainly believe that last part._

 _As for Emma?_

 _She was happy. Emma would spend two weeks as part of a family. A normal family. No fairy tale weirdness, no annoying brother. In fact, you could almost say that Lily was her new sister. A sister who didn't call her "brat" all the time._

 _The happiness would not last long._

[X]

"What am I doing here?" asked Emma. They had been catching up for a while, and Emma, frustrated with her mother's series of poor choices, and confused that her mother seemed to be leaving out details of her time in Storybrooke, had decided there was a desperate need for a change in subject.

"What do you mean?" asked her mother.

August shrugged.

"I mean," said Emma, "how do I do it?"

August and their mom looked at Emma in confusion.

"How," explained Emma, "do I break the curse?" There was a pause. In the absence of any response, Emma continued: "We've been here for nearly a week. And I have no idea what I'm doing here.

"I thought, when I got to Storybrooke, it would all be clear – that I would know what to do. But the truth is I got here, and I don't even know where to start. It's all too big for me."

Another pause came.

"Emma," said their mom, "you are smart, and brave, and I know that – "

"– You don't have a clue do you?" interrupted August.

Their mom shook her head.

"I was hoping Emma would know what to do when she got here."

Emma looked at her family. She had let them down, hadn't she? Not just her family, but also an entire realm's worth of people. Some Savior she was. She didn't even have the first clue what to do now.

[X]

 _Technically, Emma was a runaway, and – again technically – the Pages should have turned Emma over to the authorities. This all meant that Emma didn't go to school at this point. Which in turn meant, in a city where she knew exactly three people, and they all lived in the same house, Emma didn't get out much._

 _Which lead to Mr. Page driving Emma to school to hang out with Lily after school, every day beginning on the second week she was there._

 _Mr. and Mrs. Page were really quite lenient when it came to their daughter wandering around town after school, so that first Monday, Lily took Emma to see her favorite parts of town. They couldn't actually go shopping – Lily's allowance hadn't built up enough to allow for that, but they did check out the shops._

 _Emma hadn't gone shopping with anyone since she was ten, and she found that, even though she wasn't actually shopping, she had far more fun than she ever had. Lily, it seemed, just sort of "got" her._

[X]

Emma and August walked back to their new apartment, depressed. Mr. Gold promised them that their mother had a good chance of getting off on additional evidence.

"I think it will be harder than he thinks," said August, "this is _her_ world."

Emma nodded.

"You really have no idea how to break the curse?" asked August.

Emma shook her head.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," reassured August.

Emma walked ahead.

[X]

"How are you going to get me off?" asked Mary. Her lawyer looked at her and smiled.

"Well I could just ask Regina," he said, grinning, "She'd have to do it if I asked nicely enough. But I think I want to keep my anonymity for now. Fortunately, I think I may have some additional evidence prepared."

"Prepared?"

"Let's just say," said Rumpelstilstkin, "Regina isn't the only one who shaped this town."

[X]

" _Show me how you did it," said Lily._

" _What?" said Emma. It was Wednesday. Lily and Emma were walking along the coastline._

" _How you stole the food," said Lily, "And the backpack. And money."_

" _I don't know. I pickpocketed some guy who wasn't paying attention. I walked away from with the backpack while nobody was watching. I was careful at the grocery."_

" _I didn't ask you to tell me how you did it. I asked you to show me how you did it."_


End file.
